ENG vs IND 2025: England braces for a dry summer – Why Kuldeep Yadav is India’s spin X-Factor on arid English tracks?
Not playing in games your team loses is often a recipe for enhanced perception. But Kuldeep Yadav’s growing case for inclusion in India’s playing XI isn’t built on hindsight alone. It’s built on data, patterns, and one major tactical blind spot England have shown time and again: their discomfort against quality wrist spin in red-ball cricket.
As the Test caravan moves to Edgbaston, a venue that hasn’t traditionally been kind to spinners, India are faced with a tricky but tempting proposition — do they stick with Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round reliability, or finally unleash Kuldeep Yadav, the most incisive wrist-spinner in Test cricket today?
Bazball’s blind spot: Wrist Spin
Since the start of the 2021 summer, England have played 27 home Tests. Across all those games, only six balls of wrist spin were bowled — by part-timer Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2023. In other words, Bazball has hardly been tested by wrist spin in familiar conditions.
This is not to say England can’t face spin. They can. But they haven’t faced enough of the right kind. The county ecosystem doesn’t offer them the volume or quality of wrist-spin challenges needed for meaningful exposure. Rehan Ahmed, their first-choice red-ball leggie, has a first-class bowling average north of 42. Matt Parkinson, perhaps the most skillful wrist-spinner in England’s system, averages over 31. Others like Mason Crane and Matt Critchley have experience, but little impact.
So where’s the wrist-spin challenge coming from? Rarely from home turf. Only a handful of wrist-spinners have taken more than 20 Test wickets since 2021. Among them, Kuldeep Yadav stands out — not just for his numbers, but for the manner in which he’s outsmarted top-class batters on turning tracks and sporting surfaces alike.
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Kuldeep vs Bazball – Advantage India
During the home series against England in early 2024, Kuldeep picked 19 wickets from four Tests at an average of 20.15, often breaking partnerships and tilting the momentum even when Ashwin and Jadeja were operating from the other end. He wasn’t just a support act — he was the protagonist.
What made him particularly effective was his ability to stay in the game ball after ball. England’s batters, known for their relentless aggression under the Bazball blueprint, could not walk down the track or reverse-sweep him out of the game. Kuldeep’s wrist-spin, delivered with drift, dip, and guile, forced them into unfamiliar territory — patience.
Even ahead of the current series, the 29-year-old had warned about England’s aggressive intent and the need to stay mentally sharp. “With England, one cannot relax and play defensive,” Kuldeep had told RevSportz. “You have to stay very much in the game and plan your overs accordingly.”
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India had Eng on the ropes multiple times in the first test. If they'd taken their catches the result might have been different. The key is not to panic and make too many changes. But Kuldeep must play. #ENGvIND
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 1, 2025
Why Edgbaston Shouldn’t Deter India
Yes, Edgbaston is not Chennai. In the Bazball era, spinners have averaged 50.47 at the venue. But that stat must be seen in context. First, no wrist-spinner of Kuldeep’s caliber has bowled there during this period. Second, English summers have started getting drier — a shift former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out while advocating for two spinners even in England.
“Pick your best bowlers, irrespective of the conditions,” Manjrekar said after the Headingley Test, where India’s bowlers were dismantled in the fourth innings. “If that means playing two spinners, so be it.”
Jadeja conceded over 100 runs in the fourth innings for the first time in his Test career at Headingley. India’s third and fourth seamers were hammered at over six an over. Kuldeep’s ability to slow things down, while still attacking, could have helped — at the very least — put a leash on England’s runaway chase.
Kuldeep Yadav has often been benched in overseas Tests due to his limited batting. But that barrier is crumbling. With Nitish Kumar Reddy showcasing solid lower-order credentials, India can afford to play Kuldeep at No. 8 and push Jadeja out, or even better, play both and drop a seamer.
This flexibility makes a compelling case for rethinking India’s combination. Especially when a format-defining Test match is on the horizon, and the opposition continues to show vulnerability against a particular bowling art.
The last time India picked a wrist-spinner not expected to bat in a SENA Test was in Sydney, 2019. Kuldeep took a five-for. Ravi Shastri, the then-coach, called him India’s “No.1 overseas spinner.” Yet, bizarrely, he hasn’t featured in a SENA Test since.
Now, with form, confidence, and matchups all in his favour, Kuldeep stands at the edge of another chance. England have a hole in their armour. Wrist spin exposes it. Kuldeep possesses it.
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