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Why did Kuldeep Yadav not bowl in the second innings of India’s warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo? Was there an injury concern? India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule has explained the reason behind the decision, saying it was only about managing Kuldeep’s workload ahead of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.Kuldeep bowled 18 overs in the three-day practice match. He had also bowled another two-three overs before the game started.With the left-arm wrist-spinner already having bowled close to 20 overs, the team management decided against giving him more work and instead allowed him to assess how his body was responding.“Kuldeep bowled almost 20 overs in the sense 18 in the match and about two-three overs before the game also. He had a very good outing and he just wanted to take a break in terms of just understanding how his body is at,” Bahutule said after the warm-up game.The decision was therefore not linked to any injury or fitness issue. Kuldeep got a good workout during the practice match and valuable time in the middle before the Tests.
Spinners get useful practice in Sri Lanka
India also gave their other spin options enough bowling time during the warm-up game.Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar bowled around 14-15 overs each, while Saransh Jain was also given an opportunity to bowl and get a feel of the conditions.The practice match also gave India an idea of how the pitch could behave during a longer contest. It was relatively flat on the opening day but began offering more assistance to the spinners as the game progressed.“The bowlers had a great opportunity to go down and express themselves on a pitch which was slightly on a flatter side in the first day. But as the days went by, there was more turn on to it and definitely a good outing for the spinners,” Bahutule said.
India begin Test series on August 15
India won the warm-up game by six wickets, giving the team valuable match practice before the Test series.India will now take on Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series, starting August 15 in Galle.The second and final Test will start on August 23 in Colombo.
