“They lack confidence”: Sanjay Manjrekar names three-star Indian batters who are most vulnerable against spinners
Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the Indian batters’ quality to play spinners after the team’s defeat in the second Test against New Zealand. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar said that if the top Indian batters were comfortable against the Kiwi spinners, India might have come close to the target set by the rival team.
Manjrekar lambasted the likes of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
The hosts were 120/2 but were dismissed for 245. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 77 runs in the second innings and looked at ease against the spinners. However, his dismissal started another collapse. Rishabh Pant was run out, and the likes of Gill and Virat couldn’t handle Mitchell Santner.
Ravindra Jadeja played a knock of 42 runs off 84 balls, but it went in vain as there was no resistance from the other end.
“Shubman Gill doesn’t know how to play spinners on turning tracks. He is always clueless when the ball starts doing a bit. Apart from him, Virat and Rohit were not impressive either. Virat misread the length, and Rohit was not confident at the crease. When your top 3 out of 4 are short of confidence against spin, you are bound to pay a heavy price. Batting was not easy in the first session and a half. If the Indians had batted and backed their defense, things could have become easier.
“Had India not lost wickets in cluster, this game could have been much closer with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in the team,” he further added.
India must win four out of its next six Test matches to qualify for the World Test Championship Final. It will one more Test against New Zealand and five red-ball games in Australia.
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