To counter Kuldeep, England 'call-up' Merlyn ahead of 2nd T20I

Completely deceived by Kuldeep Yadav’s wrong’un in the first T20I, England have called up Merlyn in their squad to help them counter the left-arm chinaman ahead of the 2nd T20I at Cardiff.

Completely deceived by Kuldeep Yadav’s wrong’un in the first T20I, England have called up Merlyn in their squad to help them counter the left-arm chinaman ahead of the 2nd T20I at Cardiff.

England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan appeared confident that his side will play Kuldeep better in the next match after finding an indigenous solution to Indian wrist spinner who left their middle-order in tatters at Old Trafford.

Kuldeep picked up three wickets in one over, sending back Morgan (7), Bairstow (0) and Root (0) to orchestrate a collapse from which England never recovered. From 102 for 2 in 13 overs, England managed just 159 for 8 in 20 overs. Kuldeep returned with figures of 5 for 24 becoming the first left-arm wrist spinner to pick up 5 wickets in T20Is.

Kuldeep will have his task cut out with England batsmen now banking on Merlyn --- a bowling machine, equipped to simulate any kind of variations, including swing, spin and bowling angles.

”One thing we can do is with Merlyn, to replicate the angle. It’s a very good machine to get used to that. But it was the first time some guys have faced Kuldeep and it may take one or two games, plus video.

“It’s about understanding that you shouldn’t get too flustered. With spin it can all happen quickly, suddenly you have faced a few balls and aren’t off the mark, so it’s not allowing that to affect you. You have to get used to the action and once you have faced them a bit more it gets easier. You have a bit more, trust and might pick up a few cues,” Buttler told a Cricket Australia website.

Jos Buttler has been assigned to supervise the practice session with Merlyn as he was the only one who seemed to have some clue against Kuldeep.