Gundappa Vishwanath, Prithvi Shaw
Gundappa Vishwanath (Credits - Getty)

It looks like the postmortem of India’s disastrous loss in Adelaide against Australia in the first Test has only started and former Indian captain Gundappa Vishwanath has joined the discussion. India could not have asked for a worse start to their Border-Gavaskar Trophy defence as they collapsed to their lowest Test score before losing by eight wickets. Gundappa Vishwanath feels opening Prithvi Shaw remains incompetent at the highest level for now.

Indian opener Prithvi Shaw has remained amongst the headlines ever since the first Test against Australia in Adelaide ended. The 22-year old not only perished for two single-figure scores in two innings but also dropped a relatively simple catch off Marnus Labuschagne’s bat. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins exposed a flawed technique of Shaw, who left a big gap between bat and pad for the ball to burst through. Hence, an axe ahead of the second Test seems imminent.

Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw (Credits: Twitter)

Gundappa Vishwanath feels that Prithvi Shaw should not have got the nod in the first place as he looks vulnerable to handle the pace barrage and the moving ball of the Australian bowlers. The former Indian batsman added that while Cheteshwar Pujara perished to an unplayable delivery, the others did not use their feet while playing the strokes, displaying lack of confidence.

“Shaw shouldn’t have been picked. He is not ready to face the kind of speed generated by the Australian pacers and he appears ill-equipped to play the moving ball. Cheteshwar Pujara got out to an unplayable delivery, but the rest did not use their feet. They were caught in two minds before playing their strokes and displayed a total lack of confidence,” Vishwanath told Mid-day.

We have to accept that we faced a huge problem facing the moving ball: Gundappa Vishwanath

Prithvi Shaw Shouldn't Have Been Picked In The First Place- Gundappa Vishwanath
Gundappa Vishwanath. (Credits: Twitter)

The 71-year old further said that India did face troubles playing the moving ball. Vishwanath also recalled India’s previous lowest total of 42 in 1974 at the Lord’s and the right-handed batsman, who was part of that game, pointed out that they also made 302 in the first innings of that match. Gundappa Vishwanath remains confident that the visitors will bounce back and have to endure this challenging period for the time being.

“We have to accept that we faced a huge problem facing the moving ball. People pointed fingers at the debacle but we scored 302 in the same Test at Lord’s in the first innings. This is life. I am sure Team India will bounce back but for the time being, they have to endure this tough period,” he added.

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