"When you have three proven spinners, should play them": Manjrekar keen on India Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion in second Bangladesh Test

Mumbai [India], : Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar urged the Indian think tank to play spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.

Kuldeep, who has played 12 Tests since his debut in 2017 and has taken 53 wickets, last played a Test for India against England in March this year. In that series, Kuldeep impressed in four matches he played, taking 19 wickets and scoring some valuable runs with the bat. He was not picked for the first Test in Chennai as India opted for three pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.

However, Manjrekar said that Kuldeep should have played in the first Test as the pitch would have offered immense support to spinners after the first one-and-a-half days. He urged the team to play two pacers in Siraj and Bumrah and three spinners in the Kanpur Test, starting from September 27.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said, "I feel Kuldeep Yadav should not be dropped so easily. I believe that even if it was not a turner, India would have benefited from playing Kuldeep Yadav in Chennai because the seamers will get help for just one or one-and-a-half days on an Indian pitch. It starts supporting spinners after that and when you have a bowler like Kuldeep Yadav, you should not keep him out this easily."

"India should go with this approach in Kanpur. Even if it's a green top and the sun is out, they should keep in mind that the green top will be just for the first few hours, and Siraj and Bumrah are enough for that. When you have three proven spinners, you should play all of them." Manjrekar added.

Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first.

The top-order collapsed, and India was left at 34/3. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant stitched a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, bringing India into the game. After India was reduced to 144/6, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja stitched a 199-run partnership, helping India reach 376 in 91.2 overs.

Hasan Mahmud was the top bowler for Bangladesh, destroying the Indian top order, removing skipper Rohit Sharma , Shubman Gill , and Virat Kohli . Taskin Ahmed also took three wickets for 55 runs.

In their first innings, Bangladesh lost wickets regularly. Shakib Al Hasan , Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz put up a brief fight for Bangladesh, but Bumrah and Akash Deep broke the back of Bangladesh batting. Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Bangladesh was bundled out for 149 runs in their first inning and trailed by 227 runs.

In their second innings, India once again lost their top-order quickly and was struggling at 67/3. But centuries from Gill and Rishabh Pant helped them reach 287/4 before the innings was declared. Bangladesh was set a massive 515 to win.

Bangladesh started off the run-chase well, with openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam putting up a 62-run opening stand. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto held the innings together as Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah were among the wickets. At the end of day three, Bangladesh was 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan unbeaten.

On the final day, Ashwin and Jadeja ran through the Bangladesh line-up, bundling them out for 228 runs, with Shanto playing a fighting knock of 82 in 127 balls, with six fours and three sixes.

Ashwin ended the inning with figures of 6/88, while Jadeja took 3/58. Bumrah got one wicket.

Ashwin secured the 'Player of the Match' for his all-round show.

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