India vs Sri Lanka 2017: Kuldeep Yadav unperturbed by the grassy pitch on offer for the third test

What’s the story?

With the third Test less than 24 hours away, Kuldeep Yadav is confident he can perform well irrespective of the pitch conditions. Over the past three days, some grass has been left on the Pallekele pitch.

However, Yadav stated that the state of the wicket doesn’t concern him. "For me, the wicket doesn't matter," said the chinaman. "I don't see the wicket at all. In childhood, I used to bowl on cement wickets and there can be no better wickets [for batting] than cement wickets. On grassy wickets, some balls can bounce and some can skid through. So there is still some advantage even if there is no turn."

Regarding his chances of making the first team with the presence of both Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Yadav had this to say, "You cannot walk into the team so easily, and you have to wait; that's the rule of cricket.

"It is good that I have worked with them [R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja], and I have been in the team with them for last six-seven months. So I have got to learn a lot from them, especially playing Test cricket with them. You gain experience like this and it helps in the future. I try to stay with them mostly and keep talking to them; they help me a lot."

In case you did not know...

India will play Sri Lanka in the third Test at Pallekele tomorrow which is merely a formality as the Men in Blue have already clinched the series by winning the first two Tests at Galle and Colombo. Ravindra Jadeja has been suspended for the third Test and his place in the playing XI will most likely be taken by Kuldeep Yadav even though Axar Patel has been called into the squad as Jadeja’s replacement.

The heart of the matter

Kuldeep Yadav has played a Test and 5 ODIs for India so far and his performances have been pretty good in all formats. While he took 4/68 on his Test debut against Australia, he took eight wickets during India’s ODI series against West Indies at an average of 19.75.

Even though the Sri Lankan track supports spin, things won’t be smooth for the 22-year old as a few Sri Lankan batsmen, particularly Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, played spin really well in the second Test at Colombo.

However, Yadav also stated that playing the sweep shot can also result in chances of a wicket, specially LBW and bowled. Hence, a few variations might help his cause.

What’s next?

Yadav along with the rest of the Indian Team will be gearing up for the final Test at Colombo which commences tomorrow.

Author’s Take

It’s good to see Yadav showing such positive attitude despite the fact that if he gets selected, it will be only his second Test. Having seen him perform well against Australia and West Indies, it shouldn't be much of a surprise if he produces a good performance in the upcoming test as well.