England vs India 2018: Mohammad Azharuddin Questions Coaching Staff After Yet Another Batting Failure

Former Team India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin has criticised the Indian coaching staff and has questioned their role in the team after yet another dismal show against England with the bat from India at Southampton which subsequently resulted in yet another series defeat in overseas conditions.

Chasing a target of 245 runs to win, the visiting team was bowled out for just 184 runs which handed England a 3-1 series victory with a match to go. The fifth and the final Test is slated to be played at the Kennington Oval in London.

“We lost the series because of poor batting, and our batsmen were committing the same mistakes throughout. What is our coaching staff doing?” Times of India quoted Azharuddin.

Team India skipper Virat Kohli has scored in excess of 500 runs in eight innings in the series so far. However, he has got very little support from his teammates.

The top order has been found wanting on several occasions in the series which has resulted in a series defeat yet again.

“Technically, our batsmen were found wanting. We didn’t play the moving ball well. We can’t depend only on Virat Kohli. Openers like Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul too didn’t get runs. The middle-order was left with too much to do. We should have taken at least a 100-run lead after Cheteshwar Pujara’s hundred [in the fourth Test],” Azharuddin asserted.

India had the best pace battery ever, and they got all the wickets in the series so far without Lord’s Test. Time and again they gave the team a chance to battle in all the Tests.

However, their batters have been below par and have failed to counter the swing which has been on offer in these conditions.

Mohammad Azharuddin feels India could have done better in England:

“We could have done better. This was our best chance to win the series because we had the best bowling attack and in every game, they got those 20 wickets and gave our team a chance to throttle the opposition,” said Azharuddin.

India dropped Cheteshwar Pujara and played Kuldeep Yadav in seam-friendly conditions at Lord’s. These are the few decisions which went against the visiting team.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin believes that pointing fingers won’t work as it is a team which wins matches and not a particular person.

“I can’t say if there was any selection error or not because I wasn’t there to see what prompted the India team management to make those changes. But the entire batting unit didn’t respond well to the challenges. I have to compliment the way Kohli batted throughout the series. But it boils down to one thing. It’s a team game, and all the other batsmen need to complement their captain,” he said.

In a bid to salvaged some pride, Team India would come hard at the Three Lions.