India vs Australia: Why India are not playing Kuldeep Yadav on turning pitches

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Pitches aiding the spinners from the first day of the Test has been the highlight of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Spin to win has been the mantra.

India captain Rohit Sharma has minced no word in admitting that it was a collective team plan to play on such surfaces. The plan paid off initially as the hosts won the first two Test matches and took a 2-0 lead. But come the third Test in Indore, it backfired so much so that India ended up losing the match by nine wickets in two days and one session.

The Australian batters did apply themselves better than their Indian counterparts, there is no doubt about it. But the mantra - 'spin to win' was the same at the Holkar as well. For the first time in the series, the visiting spinners showed more guile and accuracy. Each of the three spinners were equally threatening. Matthew Kuhnemann picked his maiden Test five-wicket haul in the first innings. In the second innings, veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon finished with eight wickets in his kitty. Todd Murphy, who picked a five-fer in his debut Test in Nagpur, played the third fiddle and applied insane pressure, giving away just 41 runs in 20 overs. In his second outing in Indore, he gave away just 18 runs in 14 overs.

India have also played with three spinners in all the three matches. But have they missed some trick or have they used the best possible bowling combination. Could they have given Kuldeep Yadav a chance? Let's find out.

The top-five wicket-takers in the series are all spinners. Ravindra Jadeja (21) is followed by Lyon (19), Ashwin (18), Murphy (11) and Kuhnemann (8). Five pacers occupy the next five spots.

Axar Patel, India's third spinner in the first three Tests, has managed to pick just one wicket. He bowled ahead of Ashwin in the Nagpur Test but failed to pick a wicket in the first innings. 10 overs for 28 runs without a wicket in comparison to 5/47 in 22 for Jadeja and 3/42 in 15.5 overs for Ashwin. In the second innings, Ashwin completed his five-wicket haul in just 12 overs. Jadeja picked two wickets in as many overs. Axar got three overs in which he picked his first and only scalp of the series.

Axar bowled 12 overs in the first innings of Delhi Test but failed to pick any wicket again. Jadeja bowled 12.1 overs in the second innings and finished with seven wickets. The left-arm spinner has bowled fewer overs than Ashwin and Jadeja but that does not deny the fact that he has failed to come across as threatening for the opposition. The opposition found breathing time with Axar in attack.

Australia's three-pronged spin attack has looked much more vicious than that of India.

India vs Australia: Why have India not gone with Kuldeep Yadav then?

The chinaman bowler can add variation to India's spin attack. An off-spinner (Ashwin), a left-arm spinner (Jadeja) and a chinaman bowler (Kuldeep) can give a tough time to any opposition. Kuldeep has played one Test match against Usman Khawaja, giving just two runs off 17 balls. He also dismissed the southpaw in the match once. Khawaja's opening partner Travis Head has also faced 17 deliveries from Kuldeep in one Test they came across each other. Seven runs came off it but Head also lost his wicket to the 28-year-old once. Peter Handscomb, who met Kuldeep twice in Test format, has also fell to the Kanpur-born cricketer once.

He averages 23.81 in India and 21.11 against Australia. India have opted to Test Australia on spinning tracks but still haven't given Kuldeep a chance. What could be the reason?

Kuldeep Yadav kept out of XI: Reason Revealed

The batters have been tested in the series. The likes of Steve Smith (97), Marnus Labuschagne (178) and Virat Kohli (111) are yet to hit a boundary. But amid such testing conditions, Axar has prevailed big time as a batter. In fact, the southpaw is the leading run-scorer in the series after Rohit Sharma. With 185 runs in three matches at an average of 92.50, he is just 22 runs behind his captain. The Gujarat cricketer has hit two fifties. Khawaja is the only other batter in the series to score two fifties.

Axar Patel walked in at number nine and bailed India out of difficult situations. He forged a crucial 88 and 52 runs partnership for the eighth and ninth wicket in the first innings of the Nagpur Test to help India take a handy 229-run lead. With India 139/7 in reply to Australia's first innings total of 263, Axar partnered for 114 runs with Ashwin for the eight wickets. In the last Test in Indore. he stayed unbeaten in both the innings as India were bundled out for 109 and 163.

Axar Patel - the batter has taken centre stage and that has kept Kuldeep away from the eleven. Leaving Jadeja and Ashwin out is out of question, and the dismal batting show by India has made Axar indispensable. India can also not take the risk of playing with four specialist batters. The current team combination is the best possible option for the team management for now.