‘He bowled at same pace throughout, was too predictable’: Ramiz Raja names India bowler who needs to ‘bring in variety’
Speaking in his latest YouTube video, former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja also underlined the failure of India’s batting against spin.
Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja lauded Team India’s spirit for completing the T20I series against Sri Lanka despite nine players being unavailable for the final two games due to the Covid situation in the Indian camp.
After winning the T20I series opener by 38 runs on Sunday, the Indian squad faced a huge blow as all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid-19. He was ruled out with seven days of isolation while 8 other players – who were identified as his close contacts – had to go in isolation as well. Despite the unavailability of its top-performers, Team India took the field with just five batsmen and lost the last two games and the three-match series 1-2.
Raja praised the sportsmanship of the team but, at the same time, highlighted a few issues which the team need to look into. Speaking in his latest YouTube video, the former Pakistan cricketer underlined the failure of India’s batting against spin.
“India always had talent and potential in batting but this time, they had inexperienced hands. Unfortunately, the situation was tough for them. Their regular players weren’t available, which also included some match-winners, due to the Covid situation. When you are inexperienced, you have no reference point when you get stuck since you haven’t been in that situation before. That is why Team India struggled.
“The Indian batsmen did not play spin well, which is definitely a matter of worry. Generally, they bat very well against spinners. This time though they did not use their feet and credit to Sri Lankan bowlers for not allowing them to do so,” Raja said.
“Team India had issues but the brain-thrust would be disappointed. Youngsters had a great opportunity to get a flavour of international cricket. It was a good decision by India not to abort the tour but the batters and bowlers could not perform in the last two T20Is,” he added.
Raja also spoke about India’s bowling in the final T20I in which the visitors registered their third-lowest T20I total – 81/8 – and then failed to defend it. He lauded Rahul Chahar, who picked three wickets, and suggested that Varun Chakravarthy needs to bring variety in his bowling.
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“If you look at the bowling, Rahul Chahar was the best of the lot but Varun Chakravarthy will need to bring in more variety, he bowled at the same pace throughout. On this pitch, he could have bowled with more flight and pace at times. He was too predictable,” Raja said.
