Former Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nayar questioned India’s tactics after they suffered a nine-wicket loss against England in the fourth T20I at County Ground, Bristol, on Thursday. Nayar reckons India took the field without any proper planning after their heavy loss in the series.
India could only manage a below-par score of 158 runs on the board after electing to bat first. The Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer was the lone warrior for the team as he scored 80 runs off 49 balls.
Furthermore, England was able to chase down the score with 37 balls to spare after Phil Salt and Harry Brook scored fine half-centuries.
Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports YouTube Channel, “They looked underprepared. What is the difference between the two teams? If you look at the way Jofra Archer targeted the Indian batters, there was a clear strategy. They consistently targeted our left-handers with hard lengths and pace. Even the way Will Jacks was used showed proper planning. That is the difference between the two teams. It feels like this team has taken the field without a proper plan. Even during team selection, the options that were available to you don’t seem to be visible. When your team has seven left-handers, it suggests that you haven’t found or chosen the right options.”
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim slammed India’s batting and bowling plans on the UK tour.
“One thing I don’t understand is that ever since India lost the first match in Ireland, we’ve been saying that India’s bowling plans aren’t visible, and neither are their batting plans. India hasn’t shown the kind of flexibility in either its batting or bowling plans. What we saw against England in the first match is exactly what we’re seeing even now, both in the bowling plans and the batting plans. Even today, our batters are getting out to the short ball. Even today, we didn’t seem to have a plan for how to play the spinners. Will Jacks bowled his four overs and conceded only around 19-20 runs.”
The fifth T20I between India and England will be played at Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Saturday.
