NOVEMBER 16, 2022
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has ripped into India captain Rohit Sharma and their head coach Rahul Dravid for the Asian side’s failure to win the recently concluded T20 World Cup in Australia. After surviving a couple of scares during the group stage, India eventually progressed to the semifinals of the tournament.
However, they were no match to a rampaging England there as Jos Buttler and his men went on to bulldoze their way to a 10-wicket victory in Adelaide. England subsequently trounced Pakistan in the final to become the first team in cricket history to hold the 50-over and T20 World Cup at the same time and Nasser Hussain has now blamed their conservative approach for the loss.
Nasser Hussain also added that while India’s batters, especially their openers were playing aggressive cricket in bilaterals, in ICC events they were back batting in their old fashion being conservative in the initial few overs.
Nasser Hussain suggested that India now needed an Eoin Morgan type of character to learn the art of aggression on the field because the kind of cricket they were playing at the moment will not help them in winning ICC competitions.
“I had even asked Ravi Shastri, who was the coach of that team (in the last T20 World Cup) and he said ‘we played pretty timid cricket’ with the bat and that’s got to change. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid came to change that, and they did it in bilaterals, they did it against England. Suryakumar Yadav smashed it around Trent Bridge, got a brilliant 115 (117 off 55). But then, you’ve got to take it into a game, where you know that if you lose, the sort of criticism you are going to get. The first time they took that into a knockout game, they slid back into their old style of being 66 for 2 in 10 overs,” Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.
“India is still a massive force. You look at their team on paper. You look at the players they could’ve picked. It’s a bit like England. There were a couple of blows like most sides had, like Jasprit Bumrah and Jadeja being injured. But, when it comes to knockout games, the approach needs to change. There’s talk about younger guns coming through but it’s not the players, but the mindset,” Nasser Hussain added.
“They need an Eoin Morgan-type character to go in there and say play carefree cricket. 20 overs, go and smash it as much as you can for 20 overs. Play like you play in the IPL and smash it. Do it for India and don’t worry about the noise. Shut out the noise and we’ll back if you are bowled out for 120,” he stressed.
Nasser Hussain is not the only cricketer to criticize Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid for India’s T20 World Cup shocker.
Earlier, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh made a shocking suggestion of removing both Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma from their positions following the Men in Blue’s exit from the T20 World Cup at the semifinal stage.
Since Rohit Sharma’s men were bulldozed by England in their semifinal clash at the Adelaide Oval last week, criticism of Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma’s tactics and his choice of players for the tournament has been growing and among the firsts to call for their sacking was Harbhajan Singh.
According to Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Dravid is not someone who has played the shortest format of the game for a long time and he doesn’t appear to have a vision for India’s T20 side. That’s why he should be replaced with a coach who has tasted success in T20s, someone who knows how to get the best out of his players.
Harbhajan Singh even suggested names for both a new coach and the captain of the Indian cricket team. He reckons that Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra should be appointed skipper and coach immediately so that the duo has enough time to prepare for the next T20 World Cup which would be played in the West Indies and USA in 2024.
India’s T20 World Cup campaign came to an end after Jos Buttler and his boys gave them a hammering, cruising through to a comfortable 10-wicket triumph in batting-friendly conditions in Adelaide.
After India posted 168/6 on the board with the help of half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, England’s openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales took the Indian bowlers apart, completing the run chase in just 16 overs. While Jos Buttler remained unbeaten on 80, Alex Hales remained not out on 86.
“It’s not just about the captain. You should bring someone who has just retired. Someone who understands T20 format. With all due respect to Rahul Dravid, he has been my colleague, I’ve played a lot of cricket with him, he is a great brain. If you don’t want to remove him as T20 head coach then help him,” Harbhajan Singh told India Today.
“Bring someone who has just retired, someone like Ashish Nehra, who has got a great cricketing brain. Look what he has done at Gujarat Titans as a coach. I don’t mean just Ashish, it can be anyone who knows this format,” he added.
“It will also encourage the young guys with what Ashish will bring into the team. It could also be anyone, who just retired. For captaincy, Hardik Pandya is my choice. There is no better choice. He is the best player in the team and you need more people like him in the team,” Harbhajan Singh signed off.
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