Former India coach Ravi Shastri has come down hard on the Indian players for their poor innings against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Despite being in good form, Shastri was not satisfied with the performance of the batsmen on the last day when he could not save the match.
The former India player noted the criticism of “two senior players and one youngster”. Although he did not mention names, it was clear that he was referring to Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant.
Ravi Shastri also compared the performances of both captains Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins. While Cummins has done exceptionally well, raising his standards throughout the series, Rohit has been miserable and produced below-par performances.
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Ravi Shastri is relentlessly attacking the Indians
Writing for his column in The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Ravi Shastri was delighted with the Indian crowds filling the stadiums and felt it was a good advertisement for Test cricket.
Shastri remarked, “It was amazing to see Indians travel from all over the world to experience Test cricket at its best at the ‘G (MCG).
However, he also feels that the Indian batsmen played some poor shots on the fifth day which eventually cost them the game. The former Indian coach admitted that India lost the Sarhad-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Unfortunately for them, some poor batting selection either side of the middle session on the final day cost India the game. And probably ensured India lost the Sharad Gavaskar Trophy by one Test,” he said. .
Ravi Shastri compares Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins
Shastri hailed Cummins for taking his game to a new level while comparing the captains of both the teams. Cummins started slowly but settled into his rhythm from the next match. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has looked very low so far. The Indian skipper has very few runs and has not had a great run as a captain either.
“India will have a couple of other second innings that will be screened with two senior players and one youngster. Three very loose shots. It doesn’t help when one of those involves a struggling captain,” explained Shastri.
“It also doesn’t help when Cummins raises his game to an 8 or 9 against his counterpart at the opposite end of the scale,” said the former India all-rounder.
Rishabh Pant’s dismissal was a turning point
As Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s poor form continued in Melbourne, Rishabh Pant’s drop shot was scrutinized when he attempted a big shot from Travis Head’s half-tracker but was caught in the deep.
Pant’s wicket was a turning point as India started losing wickets in the groups from that point. All the three players, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have had a disappointing series with the bat with Rohit scoring the least number of runs between them.
