Kuldeep Yadav names England player who began worrying R Ashwin and him in Australia itself

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently selected Kuldeep Yadav in their 18-member squad for the upcoming home Test series against England. The left-arm spinner was also a part of India’s touring squadron that won the series in Australia, however, he was not included in the playing XI in any of the four matches. Moreover, the last time Kuldeep Yadav played Test cricket for India was way back in 2018 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) where he picked a five-fer to star in India’s maiden series win Down Under.

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India vs England: Kuldeep Yadav kept discussing with R Ashwin about combating Joe Root  

Kuldeep Yadav recently interacted with ESPNCricinfo. In the interview, he said that he had many “good discussions” with senior teammate Ravichandran Ashwin (R Ashwin) during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. Yadav claimed that the veteran off-spinner helped him in making game plans and in doing so, gave him quite a few ideas.

Kuldeep Yadav also revealed that they even discussed about India’s home series against England in Australia itself. Considering England skipper Joe Root’s sublime form with the bat in Sri Lanka, the two spinners talked about how to bowl at the prolific batsman. As per the interview, Yadav extensively learned about which areas to bowl and which fielders should be close while bowling at Root.

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Kuldeep Yadav praised Joe Root by saying that the right-handed batsman has “time to play his shots” and is someone who plays spin well off his back foot. Yadav also seems to be wary of other English batters like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. He said that Buttler’s strength is to dominate the bowlers while star all-rounder Stokes likes keeping his opposition under pressure at all times.

India vs England 2021 updates

The first of four India vs England Test matches is scheduled to commence from Friday, February 5 onwards at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The venue will also host the second Test before the action shifts to the newly-renovated Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad for the final two matches. The players from both sides have already begun their training routines, as evidenced from the social media feed of their respective cricket boards.

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India squad for England Tests 2021

Here is a look at the entire India squad for England Tests 2021 –

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Image source: BCCI Twitter