Ajinkya Rahane gave his support to Kuldeep Yadav despite a run of poor form across formats in recent times and urged the Indian team management to back him in these times. The former India vice-captain stated that if captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir support the wrist spinner in these times, he will deliver for them in the future when the team needs him to.

Rahane’s comments came after Kuldeep’s place in the team came under scrutiny after he took just one wicket across two innings in India’s massive win in Galle while the team’s other two spinners dominated. Manav Suthar took a 10-for while Ravindra Jadeja got four wickets across the two innings.

“I want Kuldeep Yadav to be given more confidence. He needs the team to stand by him at this point. Whenever there are crucial situations, he has picked up wickets. Yes, he did not get to bowl a lot here. All these things happen in the game, and sometimes you don’t get the rhythm. But I want to see Kuldeep being backed if the conditions are similar. He is a match-winning bowler. If the team backs him now, he will deliver,” said Rahane in a video on his YouTube channel.

Kuldeep had made his Test debut under Rahane’s leadership against Australia in 2017 during the Dharamshala Test. That match also marked the ex-India batter’s maiden outing as Indian captain in Test cricket following an injury to Virat Kohli.

Rahane claimed that the team should stick to the same playing XI for the second Test unless the conditions at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Stadium in Colombo are drastically different. The Indian cricket cult hero recalled help for the pacers at the venue a few years back when he was part of the team.

“It depends on the conditions. Generally, in Sri Lanka, you expect spin-friendly conditions. When we played many years ago at SSC, it was a seaming condition. So you have to see if you want three spinners or three pacers. If there are seaming conditions and not a dry wicket, with some grass on it, then maybe there can be one change based on it. But otherwise, I don’t see any changes for the next Test. I feel it will be the same team if the conditions are the same,” said Rahane.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by Ajinkya Rahane. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of ‘intent’ remain those of the creator.