Will India play Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test vs Sri Lanka? Spin coach answers

India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule has said that the team management will take a call on Kuldeep Yadav’s selection in the second Test against Sri Lanka after assessing the conditions. India and Sri Lanka are set to lock horns in the second Test, beginning on Sunday, August 23 at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.

Kuldeep didn’t have a memorable outing in the first Test, taking just one wicket across two innings, with figures of 1/103 in 25 overs. Ahead of the second Test, Bahutule hailed the left-arm spinner as a true match-winner, stressing that they will decide on the playing XI after seeing the conditions.

"It all depends on the conditions. How, what is the need at that particular time, in different conditions, what would be the right combination, is fast bowling an option, is adding a spinner an option. Kuldeep, for me, has been a fabulous bowler over the years. The wickets sometimes are slow, and sometimes the ball operates differently for the spinners on certain surfaces. He has always been a match winner and he definitely is in the scheme of things, but we will again decide on the combination,” Bahututle said ahead of the second Test.

Meanwhile, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has asked for a minimum of a three-match Test series instead of the two-game rubber they’re currently playing. Gambhir mentioned difficulties for teams to make a comeback after losing the first Test and gave the example of India’s past victories after being 0-1 down.

I'd want a three-match Test series: Gambhir

"Ideally, I would want a three-match Test series. I've always believed that there should always be a possibility that a team losing the first Test match can come back and win the series. You can't do that in a two-Test series - the most you can do is draw the series. I still remember that series, between India and Australia, where India was one down, and they still managed to come back and win that series 2-1. Normally, if you have those three Test matches, it's always worth it,” said Gambhir in the pre-match press conference.

India are playing their third successive two-match series in the ongoing World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. They began the ongoing cycle with a five-match rubber against England, followed by a two-match series against West Indies and South Africa. They will next face New Zealand in another two-match series and will finish the ongoing cycle with a five-match series against Australia played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.