Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has picked left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav as India’s trump card as well as their best chance of consistently picking 20 wickets over Ravichandran Ashwin, ahead of the first Test at Adelaide.
“India have a big decision to make there over what spinner they go with. I think Kuldeep Yadav can do a good job in Australia,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.
He further cited Ashwin’s poor record in Australia as a factor behind his viewpoint, hailing Yadav’s ability to generate turn on any surface.
“Ashwin’s record in Australia is not great, he doesn’t turn the ball in Australia anywhere near what he does anywhere else in the world. They’ve always got Jadeja in their line-up as well who needs to have wickets that spin.”
“But a leg-spinner like Kuldeep – as we know, leg-spinners can turn it on anything – he’s a little bit different in the way that he bowls, he’s got good variations as we’ve seen in the games he’s played here already,” he added.
Ponting further had a challenge in store for the Indian pace attack.
“Their spinners are such a vital part of their Test match success. If their spinners don’t bowl well and don’t get wickets then it’s going to be up to their quicks and we’ll see if they’re good enough,” the 43-year-old concluded.
Source: Zee News