"This inclination has to be dumped" - Sanjay Manjrekar slams India's team selection for ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar has criticized India's team selection for the ongoing Test series in England. According to the 60-year-old, India's inclination towards picking players who can bat and bowl a bit has hurt them in a big way.

India made key changes to their playing XI for the ongoing Test against England in Manchester. Shardul Thakur came in for an injured Nitish Reddy, while debutant Anshul Kamboj was preferred over Prasidh Krishna for the injured Akash Deep. The visitors also retained all-rounder Washington Sundar, with Kuldeep Yadav being left out for the fourth Test in a row.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar slammed India's tactics with regard to team selection. Question a number of decisions made by Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir, he commented:

“What is coming through for everyone, despite India's heroism with the bat, is that the selections have been quite poor. We saw what Shardul Thakur was capable of in the first Test and despite that he was picked again. This inclination to have a bowler because he can bat a bit has to be dumped. India, in this particular Test match, needed a pure batter. "Now we are seeing why India is catching up with England - just the mountain of runs that were piled up. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are trying their best to salvage [the situation]. A pure batter in the team would have been handy plus a pure wicket-taker with the ball. It's just been hard to understand," Manjrekar added.

Resuming their second innings on Day 4 in Manchester at 544-7, England went on to post 669 in their first innings as skipper Ben Stokes hammered 141. At stumps, India were 174-2, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 87 and Gill on 78.

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"Kuldeep Yadav not playing the whole series tells you the approach of this Indian team" - Sanjay Manjrekar

According to Manjrekar, India's decision to not play left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep in any of the first four Tests is a big indicator of the management's mindset. Continuing the discussion, the former batter said:

"Kuldeep Yadav not playing the whole series tells you the approach of this Indian team management. Jadeja has got the runs, almost saw India win. But as a bowler, he hasn't contributed, so that has hurt India. Washington Sundar got four wickets in the last game, so Kuldeep Yadav had to sit again."

Since his Test debut in 2017, Kuldeep has only played 13 matches in which he has claimed 56 wickets at an average of 22.16, with four five-wicket hauls.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert