India suffered a five-wicket defeat in the first of the five-match Test series against England at Headingley on Tuesday. The visitors are now trailing 1-0 in the series, with added pressure on new captain Shubman Gill.
The Men in Blue opted to go with a four-man pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and supported by the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur.
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However, following the loss, India's decision to go with just a single spinner for the Test has been criticised by commentator Alan Wilkins, as he questioned the absence of left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav.
IND vs ENG: Did leaving out Kuldeep Yadav cost India the Headingley Test?
Wilkins took to X (formerly Twitter) to state that India might have made a mistake to go without Kuldeep for the first Test match. He noted that the visitors required an extra spinner in the lineup and that there was no need for four seamers for Headingley.
"India will rue not playing Kuldeep Yadav in this First Test," he posted. "Four seamers is a luxury, especially when one of them is Jasprit Bumrah - the extra spinner was required by India."
India will rue not playing @imkuldeep18 in this First Test. Four seamers is a luxury especially when one of them is @Jaspritbumrah93 - the ext
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) June 24, 2025
ra spinner was required by India.#ENGvIND
Wilkins makes a valid point. While India's decision to go with four seamers, including Thakur, could be debatable, it was their call to give just six overs in the first innings to the Mumbai bowling all-rounder that got pundits confused.
The inclusion of Kuldeep as a wrist spinner, in place of either Prasidh or Shardul, might have added an extra dimension to India’s attack.
The left-arm chinaman’s ability to pressure batters with his angles and sharp turn was a weapon the visitors chose not to deploy, which might have played a role in their loss at Headingley.
Before the start of the Test series, even former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin had echoed that Kuldeep should be considered as a definite starter in the playing 11 during India's tour of England Tests.
R Ashwin had backed Kuldeep Yadav as a must-pick for England Tests
"I believe we should not go into this series without Kuldeep Yadav," Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel. Unless and until it is an absolute green belt, then you don't need an extra spinner. Otherwise, if they play Bazball, we must definitely go with Kul-ball. It will 100% be effective, I feel."
India instead chose to omit the left-arm spinner from the playing 11 and went with just a solitary spinner in Jadeja, while their extra seamer proved ineffective both as in the bowling front and failed to contribute any meaningful runs in the lower order.
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