Sunil Gavaskar criticizes Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir for questioning Washington Sundar over Kuldeep: 'They are anxious...'

Sundar was immediately brought into the starting XI, replacing left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Head coach Gambhir explained the decision, stating, "We noticed that the opposing team had several left-handers in their lineup. Bringing in another bowler who can be effective against left-handers was a strategic move for us. While we have not finalized our playing XI, Washington's skillset gives us better control on the field, making him a valuable option for us."

Gavaskar did not agree with the theory of left-handers to bring in Sundar. The former India captain, in fact, said Sundar's selection was because of his batting and that India were worried about their lower-order.

"The selection of Washington Sundar tells me that the Indian team was worried about their batting. He is in not just because of his off-spin but because he can get more runs at the lower order. Yes, I think there has been a lot of talk about the number of left-handers in the New Zealand batting line-up but if I had to do that then I would have picked another guy like Kuldeep Yadav, who can turn the ball away from the left-haders. He's pretty hand with the bat as well. Obviously, not as heavy-scoring as Sundar," Gavaskar said in commentary on Day 1.

Sundar, who scored a century in his last Ranji Trophy appearance for Tamil Nadu, made a comeback to the Indian Test XI after three years. He last played against England in 2021 in Ahmedabad, where he scored an unbeaten 96 with the bat.

Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who was in the commentary box when Gavaskar brought the topic up, said he was surprised that India went ahead with Washington ahead of Kuldeep and Axar Patel.

"Yeah, a touch surprised by the Kuldeep Yadav change. Also, there is someone like Axar Patel, who played well in Australia, didn't get much chance with the ball. Kuldeep Yadav had a lot of variety to provide. He didn't have too many runs to play with in the previous Test. Something a spinner needs in Test cricket," he said.

There were two more changes on the Indian side, which lost the first Test. Shubman Gill and Akash Deep replaced KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj.