Former India captain and coach blasted Team India for their listless performance in the ongoing five-match T20I series against England, where they are yet to win a match. In the third T20I, the Shreyas Iyer-led team suffered a 125-run defeat after they were bundled out for just 76, chasing England’s target of 202. With two matches remaining, India still have a chance to draw the series.
Speaking about India’s performance in the third T20I, Kumble said it was an ‘abject surrender’ by the team. He also criticised the Indian batters while facing the two English quicks — Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.
“It was an abject surrender by the Indian team. You don’t expect a world champion side to cave in like that.”
“The Indian batters needed to show more patience and application, but everyone just tried to attack instead of absorbing the pressure. Yes, the required rate was over 10, but someone had to take responsibility and bat deep. Instead, they went the aggressive route and paid the price with a batting collapse,” Kumble said on JioHotStar.
The former legspinner also came down heavily on the team management’s decision to send Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube in the last game, where both the batters failed to score runs.
“In T20 cricket, you put your best batters up front. Sending out Harshit Rana to bat ahead of a more complete batter like Shivam Dube was wrong. You can’t expect a number eight guy to win you a game by sending him to bat ahead of a proven guy. That’s not how things work in modern-day cricket,” he said.
Kumble also advised the team management and Shreyas not to make changes to the bowling lineup in every match.
“The Indian team has made too many changes to its lineup, and that needs to stop. The bowlers keep changing. Prasidh Krishna was dropped after one bad game against Ireland. Prince Yadav came in, bowled well, and picked three wickets in the second T20I, but India still lost that game. As a new captain, you need to stick with your five bowlers. Batters will score runs, but bowlers win you matches.”
“When you pick players, you need to keep backing them. Ups and downs are part and parcel of life. They keep happening, but that doesn’t mean failures end up with you getting dropped from the squad.”
