SL series crucial for India's spin attack post-Jadeja: Murali Kartik

Murali Kartik believes the Sri Lanka series is crucial for India's spin future with Ravindra Jadeja in his 'twilight'. He sees potential in Manav Suthar and notes the series will be a test for Kuldeep Yadav's leadership in the red-ball format.

Former India cricketer Murali Kartik believes the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka will be crucial for India's spin attack, with Ravindra Jadeja in the "twilight" of his career and the team looking to the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar to step up and shape the next phase of its red-ball spin-bowling unit.

Kartik, during a virtual interaction with the media, said the series is crucial for India's spin attack as Ravindra Jadeja approaches the twilight of his career. He praised Manav Suthar's performance against Afghanistan, saying the young spinner has shown promise and could be important for India's red-ball future. Notably, in his debut match for India, Suthar grabbed seven wickets in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. "From a spin point of view, absolutely important, because Ravindra Jadeja, as good as he has been for Indian cricket, is in the twilight of his career. So, from that point of view, Manav Suthar, the way he came in and the way he bowled against Afghanistan, was very heartwarming for any old-school spinner who's watched Indian cricket, or who knows Indian cricket. So, from that point of view, from a red-ball point of view, Manav Suthar was very important," Kartik said.

Future of India's Spin Leadership

Kartik said Kuldeep Yadav has been a match-winner for India but has not received a consistent run in Test cricket. With Ravindra Jadeja nearing the "twilight" of his career, he believes it remains to be seen whether Kuldeep can emerge as India's next spin leader. "And look, Kuldeep Yadav has been a match-winner for India, but unfortunately for him, it played out differently when he had Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid as the captain and the coach, respectively, and now he's not got that kind of a run in. When you think of what happened in England, everybody kept saying, during the course of those five Test matches, where is Kuldeep? Where is Kuldeep? And Kuldeep didn't play; he was sitting out. So it's very important from that point of view, now that Ravindra Jadeja is in the twilight of his career: is he the leader, or is it going to be someone else? Because it is, as you rightly said, very, very difficult," he said.

A Team in Transition

Kartik highlighted India's ongoing transition, saying the team has big shoes to fill after the departures of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. He also stressed the challenge of replacing the contributions of veteran spinners and said the Sri Lanka series could determine whether Kuldeep Yadav can emerge as India's spin leader. "The Indian team has been in transition for a while. You look at the kind of players we've had to replace: Rohit, Virat, retiring. Rohit not there, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane out of the side. That's a huge volume of runs, which you're talking about. So, to get that in, and also the spin. Look at the number of wickets those two guys have taken after the likes of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, depending on what the team management wanted. One of them was always playing. So, those are very, very big shoes to fill. So, can Kuldeep Yadav be the leader? I think we will find out during the course of this series, because it's very important," Kartik said.

World Test Championship Context

Kartik said the Sri Lanka tour is crucial for India, not only for assessing its spin options but also for improving its position in the World Test Championship, especially given the team's recent struggles in Test cricket. "It is a crucial tour, very important from the point of view of not just the spinners alone. Also, the WTC, because if we are serious about Test cricket, we are at number 5; our fortunes haven't been great in red-ball cricket off late, which is, I think, well documented, and everyone knows it," he said.

The opening Test will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium from August 15 to 19. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Led by Shubman Gill, India are currently fifth in the World WTC standings, having registered four wins and four losses in nine matches, with a Points Percentage (PCT) of 48.150. (ANI)

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