India’s batting was astonishingly abysmal on the third day of the Guwahati Test. The bowling struggled a bit, here and in the last Test. But there’s more to it. India’s downfall against South Africa isn’t just related to just batting or bowling. The hosts have implied some shoddy tactics and team selections as well.
As India collapsed to Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer, Ravi Shastri highlighted some of the shocking calls taken by Gautam Gambhir. Shastri talked about the Kolkata Test, where Washington Sundar just bowled 1 over and played as a batter at number three. India played with four spinners, but one of them never bowled.
Shastri blasts Gambhir for poor tactics
The former India head coach thinks perhaps one of the all-rounders, either Washington or Axar Patel, should have been dropped for a batter. As he mentioned, the former delivered just 6 balls in the entire match, while the latter was off colour with his bowling.
“Just doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand the thought process there. And when they look back at the series, some of the selections… I am still trying to fathom the thought process behind them. In Kolkata, one of the spinners (Washington Sundar) bowled just one over. Ideally, you could have gone with another specialist batsman,” Shastri said while commentating.
But when Washington was told to bat at three, he should have been persisted with. Sundar had ended up scoring the most runs for any batter in Kolkata, 60. Despite this, he was demoted to number eight. Yes, Shubman Gill was out with an injury, and that’s why Sai Sudharsan was brought back, but couldn’t Sai have batted at four or Washi at three? Shastri certainly thinks so.
“Similarly, here, Washington batted at three in the last Test and could have easily batted at four here, now that you had a number three. He’s not a number eight; he’s far better than a number eight,” he added.
Even after the demotion, Washington still ended up as India’s second-highest scorer, 48 off 92, in the first innings of the Guwahati Test.
Editor's Pick
Cricket
India squad for T20 World Cup: Shubman Gill's form big concern, Rinku vs Washi likely
Top Stories
