Mohammad Kaif made a bold statement following India’s 3-1 loss to Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which he called a Test. series embarrassment is a “blessing in secret”.
The former Indian cricketer believes the embarrassing drubbing forced a spotlight on India’s struggling batting unit, which could have escaped scrutiny had the series been drawn.
Mohammad Kaif calls India’s 3-1 Test series loss to Australia ‘Blessing in Secret’
Pointing the finger at Virat Kohli’s struggles, Mohammad Kaif said if the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was pulled, it would mask the glaring problems in the Indian batting, which has weakened in the back-to-back Test series against New Zealand. at home and in Australia.
The numbers paint a worrying picture as only KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yashasvi Jaiswal averaged above 30 in the five-match Test series against Australia. Mohammad Kaif emphasized that this painful loss serves as a wake-up call for the team to overcome its weaknesses.
The former Indian batsman pointed out that a draw could attract attention in the Australian tour jasprit bumrahabsence or potential heroics, but now the focus is on mending the cracks that have seen the Indian cricket team lose six of the last eight Tests, and that’s a really good thing.
No one would have washed away the stains if India had drawn the Test series: Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaid, in a video released on X on January 8, said, “It’s good that they lost this time (in the BGT) because Bumrah could have felt good and won the match. Bumrah would be the hero and take all the credit. But what about Virat Kohli in test matches and spots in Indian cricket? No one would wash it.
Now there will be work to wash away the stains after the defeat as we now realize that we lost three Test matches against New Zealand and after winning the first Test we lost again in Australia by 1-3. If we had won and made it 2-2, we wouldn’t have discussed it. There are six of the last eight Tests. It’s time to clean it up.”
Apart from this, Kaif also hit out at India’s struggling batting line-up as he pointed out that even in their own backyard, the batsmen have not been able to step up and deliver good performances.
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Mohammad Kaif slams India’s batting failures, says spinners are hiding problems
Kaif also pointed out that Rishabh Pant’s Player of the Series award against Sri Lanka in 2021/22 was a rare exception as the Indian batsmen were largely overshadowed by R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Kaif boldly claims that if the contributions of Ashwin and Jadeja were removed, India would have struggled to win even on their home ground.
He criticized the lack of big performances from the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul, questioning the last time a batsman won Player of the Series in a home Test series. India’s spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Akhar Patel Kaif has often glossed over her shooting failures, which she believes have been conveniently overlooked in the past few years.
Kaif signed, “Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill or KL Rahul. Who won Man of the Series last time? Bowlers, especially spinners, dominate and help the team win. The beat is hidden; sticks also fall there. They don’t cover up, you don’t talk about it when you win. It’s time to prioritize the Test match.”
