Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has once again blasted skipper Virat Kohli after India’s ODI series loss to Australia. Australia contained India to 338 runs after posting 389 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground to pocket the series with one match still to go.
Batting first, Aaron Finch and David Warner got to their respective fifties and added a 142-run partnership as Indian bowlers continue to search for wickets with the new ball. Though they went in succession Steve Smith ensured that Australia didn’t let the advantage slip and scored at a brisk rate with another brisk century before Glenn Maxwell and Marnus Labuschange gave the finishing touch.
Gautam Gambhir blasts Virat Kohli
In pursuit, Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal gave India a good start, but it’s the habit of losing wickets in bunches hurt them badly. Both the openers were gone soon, and despite good partnerships between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and then Kohli and KL Rahul, India failed to get even close to the mammoth target of 390.
Meanwhile, this is India’s fourth straight loss in ODIs and Gautam Gambhir couldn’t keep calm. He lashed out at Virat Kohli odd usage of his premier speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled in short spells.
“I can’t understand the captaincy to be honest. We kept talking about how important is to take wickets upfront if we have to stop this kind of batting line-up and then you make your premier bowler bowl two overs. Normally, in a One Day game probably there are three spells of 4-3-3 overs. Or probably the maximum is four overs,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.
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“But if you stop your premier fast bowler just by bowling two overs upfront with the news, I can’t understand that kind of captaincy. I probably can’t even explain that captaincy. It is not T20 cricket. I probably can’t understand the reason to be honest because that was poor captaincy,” he added.
It is a selection error – Gambhir on India lacking sixth bowling option
Adding further on India lacking a sixth bowler, Gautam Gambhir pointed out a few names who can serve the purpose and fill the big hole in India’s line-up. The cricketer-turned-politician stressed it as a selection error to not have enough back-ups in the side against Australia.
“They could have given someone like Washington Sundar or Shivam Dube or whoever was there in the squad to play the next game and see how they go into the one-day format. But if you don’t have anyone in Australia then it is a selection error as well.
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“Unless and until you don’t judge someone you will never be able to find how good he is at the international level. India has not taken those options to Australia and those might come back to hurt them big time,” Gautam Gambhir said.
