Not Taking Bhuvneshwar Kumar To England And Not Picking Shardul Thakur For WTC Final Were Huge Mistakes By Team India's Think-Tank: Sarandeep Singh
Published - 27 Jun 2021, 07:45 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 04:27 PM
Former Indian selector Sarandeep Singh believes that the Virat Kohli-led think-tank made a huge mistake by not picking Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the England tour.
The former selector further added that with Bhuvneshwar Kumar not a part of the squad, India should have definitely picked seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the 15-men squad for the WTC final against New Zealand.
Singh added that while the playing 11 which consisted of two spinners that India picked ahead of the WTC final was perfect but with rain causing a change in conditions, India should have made changes to their playing 11.
But, the fact that they didn’t have Shardul Thakur in the 15-men squad meant that they couldn’t have drafted him in the playing 11 for the final.
“The playing eleven picked two days ago before the game was perfect with two spinners in it. But it should have been changed as the conditions got more conducive to fast bowling (after rain),”Sarandeep Singh told PTI.
“You picked the two spinners (Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja) because they can bat. The only fast bowler who could bat was Shardul and he was not in the 15. He should have been there in the 15-man squad irrespective of whether he made the eleven or not eventually.” he added.
Singh further reckoned that not taking ‘your best swing bowler’ in Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a huge mistake.
”Not taking Bhuvi to England is a huge mistake. He is the best swing bowler you have and he is not even part of the squad.” he added.
A Change of approach is very much needed from Team India’s batsmen- Sarandeep Singh
Sarandeep Singh said that while there is no immediate need of an overhaul, he reckoned that the batters need to take a lot more responsibility and play out of their comfort zone rather than playing defensive cricket.
Singh was also critical of Shubman Gill, stating that the talented opener needs to bat with responsibility and convert his start into a big knock.
“Our bowling has been fine for a while now but the problem is the batsmen. (Shubman) Gill could not perform in the home series against England. He played well in the opening session with Rohit (in WTC) but could not convert. Gill has to take responsibility now and absorb the pressure” he said.
“What is clear now is that you can’t play defensive too much if the ball is doing a lot. Whether it is (Cheteshwar) Pujara or (Ajinkya) Rahane or anyone else. You have to bat out of your comfort zone after a certain point to counter the conditions” Sarandeep Singh added.
”It is too early to call for an overhaul but change of approach is very much needed from the batsmen. Even in Australia the lower order made those crucial runs. We need players to take the pressure off Kohli and Rohit.” he said.
