“Batters didn’t perform well in the first Test, but bowlers were punished by team management”: Former player questions Team India’s Playing XI for second Test
Team India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and captain Rohit Sharma dropped three players for the Pune game, surprising former player Aakash Chopra. He mentioned that the batters didn’t do their job correctly in Bengaluru, but the team management punished the bowlers.
The hosts removed KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav and replaced them with Shubman Gill, Akash Deep, and Washington Sundar for the must-win contest in Pune.
While Gill was expected to return to the playing unit after recovering from his neck stiffness, Siraj and Kuldeep’s omission surprised many. Siraj was going through a tough phase, but considering the philosophy of the team management, there was a hope that he would retain his place.
The decision on Kuldeep was the most surprising as he bowled well in the previous game and has been a performer for India in red-ball cricket.
“India suffered two batting collapses in the previous game. The team was bowled out for 46 in their first innings. In the second innings, the dismissal of Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant started another collapse. It was actually the batters who made mistakes and didn’t do what was told to them, but the bowlers had to face the punishment.
“It was a call between Rahul and Sarfaraz, as Gill is your designated number three batter. He was out from the first Test due to an injury, and when he was declared fit, there was no question of him sitting out. So, the management dropped KL Rahul. But what about Kuldeep? He didn’t do anything dropped but has been benched. Siraj was struggling, but you said that backing such players is important. You didn’t do that.
“India lost the first Test due to batters, but most of them were retained. India is a batter-friendly nation, and we think a lot about them. There are no emotions for the bowlers,” Aakash Chopra said on JioCinema.
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