IND v AUS | Preparation was fine but batsmen lacked positive intent, opines Virender Sehwag
BCCI
Virender Sehwag reckons it was the lack of positive intent from the batsmen, not preparation, that resulted in India’s humiliating loss against Australia at the Wankhede. Sehwag also called on skipper Virat Kohli to assure players of their place in the side and help them express themselves.
After a string of strong performances at home — albeit against much weaker opposition — India were left in the dust by a thoroughly dominant display by the Aussies in the first of the three-match series. While some, if not most, pundits raised questions about India’s lack of preparation to face a strong team, Sehwag raised a different viewpoint. A former opening batsman himself, Sehwag reckons that it was the lack of certainty of their place in the side that triggered the use of a conservative approach from the batsmen.
“I think the preparation was fine, but there was no positive intent when the batsmen came out. Perhaps we’d have seen more of it had Rohit Sharma not got out. Shikhar Dhawan is making a comeback, KL Rahul, playing at No.3, might have been thinking that his place in the side may be in danger if he doesn’t score big. The freedom that comes with the confidence that a player is guaranteed his place in the side, whatever happens, was not visible in the way they batted,” Sehwag said in a Cricbuzz video.
With two matches to go in the series — Friday at Rajkot and Sunday at Bengaluru — Sehwag hopes that the skipper will step up and back his player to express themselves without worrying too much about individual contributions.
“Until that confidence isn’t there, you cannot score big. It will probably take Kohli to assure them of their place in the side for the remainder of the series and allow them the freedom to express themselves. When you get onto the field with that sort of an attitude, you become mentally strong and also perform better. The morale of the bowlers were shot down because they were expecting the batsmen to get 300-plus, but only got 255,” Sehwag added.
