Maybe Gill didn’t want Shardul, wanted Kuldeep: Sunil Gavaskar questions captain’s say in XI

Manchester: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar believes Shubman Gill may not have had the final say in selecting the playing XI, a decision he insists should rest solely with the captain and not be influenced by anyone else, including the head coach. The continued omission of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has triggered intense debate, especially after Joe Root’s record-breaking century in the ongoing fourth Test, where he eclipsed Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Root, now on 13,409 runs, trails only Sachin Tendulkar’s record tally of 15,291.

“At the end of the day, it is the captain’s team,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports. “You can’t say that he didn’t want somebody like, in Shardul Thakur’s case or Kuldeep Yadav’s case, that he didn’t want them, maybe Shubman didn’t want Shardul in the team and wanted Kuldeep,” he added.

Despite boasting a strong match-up against Root -- having dismissed the England batter twice in three balls across two limited-overs games in 2018 at Manchester and Lord’s -- Kuldeep has remained sidelined throughout the series. In both instances, Root was completely foxed by the Kuldeep’s guile. The general perception is that head coach Gautam Gambhir has pushed for bowlers who can contribute with the bat, especially after India’s collapse in the Headingley Test where they slumped from 430/3 to 471 all out

in 11 overs.