Former IPL champion and India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has raised questions over head coach Gautam Gambhir after India were swept 2-0 by South Africa. The second Test ended on November 26 with a crushing 408-run loss in Guwahati, completing the whitewash after the Proteas had also clinched the first Test in Kolkata by 30 runs.
At the post-match press conference, Gambhir claimed that India’s batting failures were more mental than technical. Responding on his YouTube channel, Kaif argued that if that is true, then the team should select batters who are mentally strong enough to cope with pressure.
Kaif further pointed out that the current batting lineup consists mainly of white-ball players, unlike Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, who have significant red-ball experience. He added:
“He must be realising this now. When Gautam came in the press conference and said the batters need to show they are mentally strong and technically sound, then bring in batters who can actually do that. All these batters who are playing right now are white-ball specialists. Very few of them play Ranji.”
“The ones who play Ranji and score a thousand runs, like Sarfaraz Khan and Easwaran, you take any name, there are many. Karun Nair scored so many runs in Indian conditions, then got a few chances and was dropped again.”
Kaif Questions India’s No. 3 Spot After Sundar Experiment
Mohammad Kaif also highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the No. 3 position, noting that Washington Sundar was used there in the first Test. Kaif said this shows the worrying state of Indian cricket, as the team currently does not have a dependable No. 3 batter , a role that was once consistently anchored by players like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara.
He further stated:
“So I am saying, go forward with the ones who perform well in domestic cricket. Look at the situation now, Washington Sundar is playing at number three. This is the condition of Indian cricket right now. You do not have a proper number three batter.”
“Number three was Rahul Dravid and Pujara, they gave their whole lives to that position. Pujara kept scoring hundreds. He did not even get out in Australia. He batted the whole day. Who bats the whole day? First tell me that.”
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
