Batting coach Sanjay Bangar refutes Indian batsmen's weakness against spin

When asked about India's susceptibility to spin, Bangar said, “No generally, if a good ball gets you out, whether it is from a spinner or a seamer, we need to accept that rather than say that our batsmen got out to spinners or seamers. Quality of the ball, whether it was a wicket taking delivery, that is something we have discussed. I don't find that there is an inherent weakness against either spin or seamers for any particular batsmen. It is more to do with the kind of that sort of delivery,” in an interview to bcci.tv.

The statement, however, appears more as a measure of supporting the batsmen ahead of a crucial tour after an unknown part-timer Rakheem Cornwall picked up a five-for in India's warm-up match against President's XI.

The India batting coach also expressed his satisfaction at the preparation levels for this tour calling it the best in years. Asked about it, he said, “Very happy (with the preparations). It is the first time in a while that we've got such a long period of preparation for a Test series, so we have tried and made the best use of it.

“It started in Bangalore. We had 6-7 days there and almost two weeks here in the West Indies. Don't remember when we got so much time in the last 2-3 years to prepare for a Test series. So overall, good preparation and we have prepared for whatever different conditions we could encounter in the match situations... and what should be our response. We have discussed our plans and execution, so we have tried to work out all angles possible. The time we have had has been very useful in terms of team bonding as well as preparation. All the players are looking in good touch."

Bangar also talked about the need for the batsmen to stay patient during phases in the match. The coaches had, in fact, held simulations in the Bangalore camp to prepare the players for the same. “We have stressed on batting through sessions right from the simulations we have had in Bangalore. The entire intention has been to have batsmen batting sessions and we start and end a particular session well. This is to make sure whatever advantage we have got during that session, we consolidate on that. We have spoken about that and batsmen have been making that sort of effort to imbibe that in their game,” Bangar said.