COLOMBO: The fifth day pitch at the Galle stadium was abrasive enough for Kuldeep Yadav to weave his magic. But the left-arm wrist spinner managed a forgettable figure of 11-0-38-0.
It was clear that India skipper Shubman Gill viewed Kuldeep as the third spin option behind Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar, who jointly bowled 46.4 overs, and the duo plucked 14 wickets between them.
So, the easy way for Kuldeep's downswing is to blame the skipper or management for not showing enough trust in Kuldeep.
But the fact remains that in his 11 overs, the 31-year-old too did not provide enough samples for the leadership group to give him more overs.
Even in the first innings, Kuldeep should thank the athleticism of Gill for the wicket of Kamindu Mendis, his lone wicket in the first Test.
Of course, he tried to get out of the rut, going around the wicket to purchase more zip and bounce off the pitch.
The line of attack took the LBW out of the equation, and the withered Kookaburra ball too did not help his cause.
Now, it is certain that the think tank will mull replacing Kuldeep with off-spinner Saransh Jain for the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club, starting from Sunday.
It makes a legit case too as Sri Lankans have several left-handers in their top-order and off-spinner is a natural weapon against them.
Former India leg-spinner L Sivaramakrishnan offered a piece of tip for struggling Kuldeep.
"See first thing, white ball he will get wickets because batsmen are looking to score off him and will play shots. So, he will get wickets. Here (in Tests), he needs to forget that.
"But you need a different approach when bowling with three fielders around the bat, and only one fielder probably saving the boundary.
"The consistency of line and length needs to be top class to make an effect," Sivaramakrishnan told PTI.
One line of thought is that Kuldeep should bowl faster through the air to get more purchase from the track. He generally operates in the 82-85 kmph territory and a few experts think that the Uttar Pradesh bowler should move up the speedometer by a few clicks into the 90s.
However, Sivaramakrishnan strongly refuted that thinking.
"See what happens now that if the pace bowlers get hit, they instantly take the pace off the deliveries. Similarly, if the spinners go for runs, they are now looking to increase the pace.
"Hence, what I am saying is that this advice to bowl fast is the worst piece of advice Kuldeep is getting now," he said.
Instead, the former India spinner asked Kuldeep to focus on his alignment and natural speeds.
"See if you are bowling faster then the ball spends less time in the air, and there will be less revs on the ball. But if you bowl slower, it allows the ball to spend a lot more time in the air, and take a lot more spin. Make no mistake, spin happens in the air, and turn happens off the pitch. They are two different things.
"So, when people ask Kuldeep to bowl quicker through the air, what happens is that the ball skids off the pitch, and without that grip on the pitch there is not much chance of turning either.
"Skidding off the surface just makes the ball go in a straight line. Kuldeep has to think on this, and not only him but several spinners are suffering from this and that's why the number of leg-spinners playing Test cricket is getting decreased," he detailed.
Kuldeep's last impact outing was last year against the West Indies at New Delhi when he took eight wickets in the match to lead India's victory march.
Perhaps, lack of preparation too hindered Kuldeep's outing in Galle.
While Suthar extensively prepared with Kookaburra balls after his debut match against Afghanistan, Kuldeep had just one side game against SLC XI ahead of the first Test.
In that match also he operated in only one innings 18-0-76-2 without making a real effect.
The senior spinner also appeared in five List A matches for Yorkshire in this period, but bowling with Dukes ball in them.
Now will he get another chance at SSC to showcase his incredible skills? The answer will have a prominent link to his immediate Test career.