SL vs IND, 1st Test: Gautam Gambhir advises Virat Kohli to play three spinners, save Hardik Pandya for green tops

New Delhi: On the eve of India's first Test against hosts Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir advised skipper Virat Kohli to play three spinners in Galle and save uncapped Hardik Pandya for green tops.

The discarded opener also said that Kuldeep Yadav, who made his debut against Australia earlier this year, must play in all three Tests. Gambhir reasoned that Kuldeep is a relatively unknown entity in world cricket, and India should exploit this "mystery" to the hilt.

“I think you have to play Kuldeep (Yadav), then you have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja obviously. All three are different bowlers. Sri Lanka have four or five left-handers in their playing XI so you would want Ashwin there. Jadeja he can contain, he is someone who is very accurate as well," Gambhir said in a conversation with ESPN Cricinfo.

Kuldeep is the third specialist spinner in the squad, along with experienced Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – the two top ranked Test bowlers. The Galle Test will be followed by matches in Colombo and Pallekele.

"Kuldeep because no one has seen him and he is going to be your wicket-taking option. He is going to be a mystery option, an attacking option as well. You would rather play three spinners and two best seamers. (Mohammed) Shami and Umesh (Yadav) at the moment. These would be my five bowlers. You got the luxury that Ashwin and Jadeja bat as well. You bat reasonably deep and then you got five different bowlers, and you have got the ability to take 20 wickets,” added Gambhir.

Talking about uncapped Hardik, and the possibility of playing Kuldeep in all three matches, the Delhi batsman said that unless the wicket is "absolutely green", there is no need to bring in a third seamer in the midst. And even if such a situation arises, Hardik should replace Jadeja.

“Unless it’s a wicket which is absolutely green. I would still pick Kuldeep, I would pick him for all three Test matches. He is someone who is going to give you wickets all the time. If the wicket is green and has something for fast bowlers then I might look to play Hardik in place of Jadeja. I know it’s going to be a hard call, tough call because Jadeja has done unbelievably well for you but then it is only because of the conditions. Seeing conditions in Sri Lanka and having played there, I would play three spinners,” added Gambhir.

Last time India visited the island nation, Kohli & Co endured a humiliating defeat in the opener at Galle, only to resurrect their tour by winning the remaining matches in the three-match series.