Kuldeep took break to assess body, not fitness concern: Bahutule

Kuldeep Yadav did not bowl in the second innings of the warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI as he wanted to assess his body after a heavy workload, India's spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said Sunday, August 6, allaying concerns over the left-arm wrist-spinner's fitness.

Kuldeep bowled 18 overs in the three-day game, in addition to two or three overs before the match, and Bahutule said the decision to rest him was purely precautionary.

"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 other spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain were given extended outings as India used the game to assess their options ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. "Manav bowled about 14-15 overs, Jaddu bowled about 14-15 overs. So, they got a very good outing, they understood how the pitch reacts and I think it was a great prep for them," Bahutule said.

The pitch offered little assistance to spinners initially but began to turn as the game progressed, he said, providing valuable exposure to India's slow bowlers. "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 had fielded a strong squad for the warm-up game with the primary aim of adapting to local conditions, and Bahutule said the players made the most of the opportunity, noting that newer players such as Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain needed to adapt to ideal lines, lengths and field settings.

Bahutule said the team management was satisfied with Shubman Gill's recovery after he was hit on his right hand during a net session on Thursday. Gill did not bat on the opening day as a precaution but returned to score runs later in the game and took part in catching drills.

"It was just a precaution more than anything else. And he has been absolutely fine. He has been doing his training. And the management decided that we could just take that precaution of not putting him into that first day," Bahutule said.

He praised Gill's preparation, saying the India captain was specifically preparing for the threat posed by Sri Lanka's spinners and had been responding to different scenarios in the nets designed to replicate what he could face during the Test series.

India also used the game to work on the batting of lower-order players, giving bowlers such as Gurnoor Brar opportunities with the bat. "All the lower-order bowlers, who basically bat in lower order, their contribution will always be very useful to achieve a good total in the Test match," Bahutule said.

Devdutt Padikkal's century has strengthened his case for a place in the playing XI, though Bahutule said the final call would be made after assessing conditions in Galle.

With India currently fifth in the World Test Championship standings, Bahutule said the team was keen to make the most of the series. "WTC cycle is a very important cycle... our effort is that, back of the mind, we definitely want to go there and win. And be a part of the finals and win the WTC also," he said.

On India's four spinners Jadeja, Suthar, Jain and Kuldeep Bahutule said each offered a different quality. "We have got experience with Jaddu. We have got great accuracy levels with Manav Suthar. And, obviously, Saransh has got experience... And Kuldeep, being a wrist spinner, it always helps to have a wrist spinner in the side so that there is variety," he said.

(Inputs from PTI)