India Vs England 2018: Unfair to Say India Are Dependent on Virat Kohli - Kumar Sangakkara

Yes, Team India skipper, Virat Kohli has always been the central figure whenever Indian matches conclude. Be it on the winning side or the losing side, the name of Kohli grabbing the headlines is a constant one. Meanwhile, Kumar Sangakkara feels it is a bit unfair even after losing two Tests against England.

Kohli made a superb tally at Edgbaston but failed to flourish at Lord’s. In last ten innings, India was always dependent on Kohli for crossing 250-run mark in an overseas Test.

India availed a fantastic batsman: Kumar Sangakkara

The former Sri Lankan Sangakkara added that India has the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul and the openers who are equally performing well for India in the longer version of the game.

Giving credit to Kohli is a bit unfair to the other batsmen as far as Sangakkara is concerned.

Veteran batsman added that the lack of preparation might be one of the factors for the loss of Team India while facing England. He also pointed out the Team’s selection of two spinners despite the conditions cried out for the fast bowlers.

“It is almost unfair to the other batsmen because we have seen Virat batting like he has for the last few years. Pujara and Rahane are absolutely great batsmen — Pujara averages 50 in Test cricket, Rahane averages 50 overs. Then, there are others. KL Rahul looks brilliant (when in form), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik — these are no insignificant names,” Sangakkara told PTI.

“They have struggled here and one of the reasons could be lack of preparation. So they really need to think hard because you cannot prepare while you are playing the Test matches. You have to find that confidence. English bowlers have exploited the usual sub-continental weaknesses here and that has created more questions than answers for the Indian side,” Sangakkara stated.

Team changes and combinations too played a part in England: Kumar Sangakkara

The stylish southpaw Sangakkara mentioned the poor decisions hampered in picking perfect XI. He added that the extra-spinner instead of a fast bowler on a Lords’ wicket proved to be a wasted opportunity.

Sangakkara suggested an extra-batsman or bowler in place of all-rounder Hardik Pandya as well Team India led by Virat Kohli.

“It leaves a question mark on the Indian team selection. If you are playing five days then yes under the sun, it would have been different with two spinners coming into the game. But they really didn’t make any impact on the game.It all went wrong at the toss itself. They were great bowling conditions on day two, and James Anderson and Chris Woakes made life tough for them,” he remarked.

 

“They made a decision based on an having an extra fast bowler there, and having said that fast bowler usually do most of the damage at Lord’s. So they should have stuck with more or less the same team, or bowling attack (by bringing in Pujara for Dhawan). Hardik Pandya played, but they could have played an extra batsman and an extra pacer instead if they wanted to,” he concluded.

However, it would be interesting to see how Indians would come into the Trent Bridge Test. The third Test is scheduled to be played on August 18th.