Although he declined to comment on the startling exclusion of World Cup-winning player Sanju Samson from the starting lineup, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday expressed surprise at India’s recent white-ball dip and supported the world champions to recover.
After being bowled out for 76 while pursuing 202, India suffered a devastating 125-run loss to England at Trent Bridge, their highest-ever run total. India is already behind 0–2 in the five-match series after the defeat.
After India’s crushing 0-2 series loss to Ireland, which sent the tour off to a dismal start, Shreyas Iyer, who was named captain ahead of the UK tour in place of T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, is still looking for his first victory as T20I captain.
“I am a bit surprised by India’s performances. They have been such a strong white-ball side, and this appears to be a temporary dip in form,” PTI quoted Ganguly telling reporters, but he backed the team to recover.
“They have not looked at their best, but India have plenty of quality players and I am sure they will bounce back. Their only option now is to level the series. Every good team goes through difficult phases and finds a way to recover.”
The Gautam Gambhir-led Indian think tank’s decision to leave Samson out of the second Twenty20 International in favor of teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top of the order was the biggest selection shock.
Ganguly was cautious when questioned about the contentious choice: “That is a call for the team management (to make). It would not be appropriate for me to comment on it.”
