Ravi Shastri has launched a scathing assault on India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, overtly questioning the group’s choice choices within the ongoing two-match Check collection towards South Africa.
Shastri, who has coached India via a few of their most profitable years, mentioned that he has been making an attempt to grasp what the group administration was considering. The previous Indian head coach additionally referred to as a few of the group administration’s calls illogical.
Ravi Shastri blames all-rounder overload for India’s collapse
Nevertheless, the previous Indian captain’s greatest concern is the group’s sudden obsession with all-rounders in Check cricket. Ever since Gautam Gambhir took cost as the pinnacle coach final 12 months, gamers like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana have been pushed, whereas pure specialists, particularly batters like Sarfaraz Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, have been ignored.
Your each day dose of cricket!
Learn Additionally: Shock stat! Kuldeep Yadav a greater Check batter than Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant
Shastri believes that this variation has created confusion within the group’s construction. This confusion is at its peak within the ongoing South Africa collection. India picked three spin all-rounders, and in a stunning transfer, they promoted Washington Sundar to bat at quantity three forward of a correct specialist like Sai Sudharsan.
The choice backfired badly as India misplaced the primary Check by 30 runs. Going into the continued second and ultimate take a look at, Shubman Gill’s harm opened the door for Sudharsan, who returned to his number-three spot. However the group nonetheless caught to the all-rounder-heavy plan, with Nitish Kumar Reddy coming in for Axar Patel within the decrease order.
Ravi Shastri slams Gautam Gambhir’s choice calls as India set to face one other whitewash at dwelling
Sundar was pushed all the way down to quantity eight, which raised much more questions as a result of he had bowled only one over within the first Check on the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Ravi Shastri felt that if Sundar was hardly going for use with the ball, then deciding on him didn’t make a lot sense.
The 1983 World Cup winner believes that India has made issues unnecessarily difficult. As a substitute of backing specialists and giving readability to the batting order, too many all-rounders have been shuffled round with out a clear position, and the result’s depressing even at dwelling.
The previous Indian all-rounder additionally mentioned that when India appears again on the ongoing Check collection, they must admit that lots of the choice calls had been merely not proper. This collection has as a substitute turn into a lesson in how unclear roles and confused alternatives can harm the group, felt Shastri.
Learn Additionally: KL Rahul drops Aiden Markram once more in Guwahati Check, Jasprit Bumrah left pissed off
Nonetheless making an attempt to fathom the thought course of: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri mentioned on air, as quoted by News18: “Simply doesn’t make sense. I don’t perceive the thought course of there. And once they look again on the collection, a few of the alternatives… I’m nonetheless making an attempt to fathom the thought course of behind them. In Kolkata, one of many spinners (Sundar) bowled only one over.
Ideally, you might have gone with one other specialist batsman. Equally, right here, Washington batted at three within the final Check and will have simply batted at 4 right here, now that you simply had a quantity three. He’s not a quantity eight; he’s much better than a quantity eight.”
Notably, India was already whitewashed by New Zealand at dwelling final 12 months, and one other drubbing may price Gambhir his place, because the hosts are heading in direction of one other embarrassing collection loss. South Africa is on the verge of a historic clear sweep in India.


