“India were short on wicket-taking options in South Africa” - Salman Butt describes Kuldeep Yadav’s selection as a good move

Salman Butt has described left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s selection in the Indian team for the ODIs against West Indies as a good move. The former Pakistan captain opined that the Men in Blue lacked wicket-taking options in South Africa and Kuldeep’s comeback is a step in the right direction.

27-year-old Kuldeep last played for India during the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka in July 2021. He underwent knee surgery in September after being ruled out of the UAE leg of IPL 2021.

Discussing the left-arm spinner’s comeback to the Indian one-day team, Butt asserted on his YouTube channel:

“Kuldeep Yadav’s comeback in the Indian ODI squad is a good move. India were short on wicket-taking options in South Africa. Their all-rounders were not effective and they did not look like taking wickets. Shardul Thakur seemed to lack pace, maybe he is tired having played a lot of Test cricket as well. Even otherwise, he doesn’t have the pace to trouble batters unless he gets help from the pitch.”

Butt added that the selection of Kuldeep and the likes of Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi proved that India have realized the importance of wicket-taking options. He stated:

“Kuldeep is a very good option. With Washington Sundar as off-spinner and Ravi Bishnoi as leggie, the spin pool looks quite strong. (Yuzvendra) Chahal is also there. India have inducted quite a few wicket-taking spinners. Someone has realized that India need to take wickets if they want to win one-dayers.”

India played with Ravichandran Ashwin and Chahal as their two main spinners in South Africa in the ODI series while Jayant Yadav came in for the final match.

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“He has all the makings of a top-class player” - Salman Butt on Ruturaj Gaikwad

The 37-year-old also hoped to see young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad get a chance against West Indies. Speaking about the Chennai Super Kings opener, he said:

“I hope Gaikwad gets a chance, he is a fantastic player. From the time I saw him in the IPL, I have said that it will be great to watch him do well in international cricket. It would be unfortunate if he does not play for a long time for India because he has all the makings of being a top-class player.”

24-year-old Gaikwad was part of the Indian ODI squad in South Africa as well, but did not feature in any of the matches.