Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has criticised captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir after the Test series loss to New Zealand on Saturday. Rohit and co’s loss to the Kiwis in the second Pune Test marked the end of an 18-series winning streak at home for Team India. Following the embarrassing loss, Rohit and Gambhir have come under the scanner for their approach and team selection. During a discussion, Tiwary warned Rohit and Gambhir of “cracks in the dressing room.”
Tiwary suggested India’s downfall started after Rohit opted to bat in the rain-hit series-opener in Bengaluru.
“India’s biggest enemy was the weather in Bengaluru, because they had prepared a turning track. After winning the toss India had the opportunity to field, but I don’t know why they opted to bat first, and that is where it all started. First, they got the team selection wrong, then after losing the first Test, they made three changes,” Tiwary told Cricbuzz.
Tiwary feared that the selection calls made in Bengaluru and Pune Tests might lead to disturbances and even cracks in the Indian team.
“Well, you could call that Washington Sundar change an inspiring one, but that doesn’t mean that Kuldeep Yadav could not get them wickets. So they felt the dearth of batting options, and hence, they wanted Sundar to contribute lower down the order. That is why India went out of their way to get him in. What this will lead to is in the coming days there will be a lot of disturbances in the team, there will be cracks in the team. You already have a spin-bowling all-rounder in Axar Patel, who picked up wickets in spinning conditions previously. But you ignored him and then benched Kuldeep in the second Test. You did not play Akash Deep in Bengaluru, but included him in the second Test, where you did not give him the ball in the second innings. Then you did not start with Jasprit Bumrah in the attack. All these things will backfired,” he added.
Rohit and his men will aim to bounce back in the third and final Test, starting November 1, before the all-important tour of Australia next month.
India will play five Tests Down Under, with the series likely to decide their fate as far as the World Test Championship (WTC) final is concerned.
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