Ravi Bishnoi’s flop show became a major reason for the defeat, serious questions were raised on spin attack and team selection.

New Delhi . In the second T20 match played against England in Manchester, Team India had to face defeat by four wickets. There were many reasons for this defeat but the most talked about is the performance of young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. He conceded 60 runs in his four-over spell without taking any wicket and bowled three no balls. In a shorter format like T20, a spinner proving to be so expensive and continuously bowling no balls raises big questions on India’s bowling strategy.

Batting first, India made a challenging score of 190 runs. Chasing the target, England had a very poor start and two wickets fell quickly in the initial overs. At such a time, the Indian team had a golden opportunity to tighten its grip on the match, but Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling in the middle overs gave the host team a way back into the match.

The most decisive turn came in his 17th over. In this over, he bowled three no balls due to which England got consecutive free hits. Batsman Jacob Bethel took full advantage of these extra opportunities and completely changed the course of the match by scoring runs quickly. Discipline is considered very important in T20 cricket and such mistakes are not expected from any spinner.

Questions are also being raised on Bishnoi’s bowling style. He is considered a leg spinner but his bowling is mainly based on the googly. Once the batsmen read his googly, he neither has the option of much turn nor the variety to deceive the batsmen. In Manchester, England’s batsmen easily understood his strategy and scored runs freely.

In recent times, his performance in IPL has also been a topic of discussion. After his separation from Lucknow Super Giants, he became a part of Rajasthan Royals but even there his role was not completely stable. In such a situation, cricket experts and fans are raising questions about getting continuous opportunities in the Indian team. He believes that the team management should adopt a clear selection policy based on performance.

However, it would not be fair to question a player’s career on the basis of just one bad match. Ravi Bishnoi is a young bowler and he has led the team to victory in many matches in the past also. But to remain consistently effective at the international level, he will need to work on his traditional leg breaks and bring more variety to his bowling. Also, it will be very important to avoid basic mistakes like no ball.

The T20 series between India and England is still pending and the biggest question before the team management is whether to make changes in the spin department in the next match or to keep faith in Bishnoi. His performance in the coming matches will decide how he responds to criticism on the field.