IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli’s 5 captaincy decisions that are costing India dearly in T20 Series- India trailing 1-2 in the T20 series against England, despite Virat Kohli’s two consecutive 70-plus knocks, his captaincy decisions have not been impressive. From three opening pairs in three matches and the No 4 slot still up for grabs to keeping Yuzvendra Chahal in the team despite his poor performance, not all is well with India and Kohli’s decisions.
As India have already lost the opportunity to top the ICC World T20I rankings and a series win might be up in the air, Kohli and India team management will need to sort things ahead of the 4th T20I in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Insidesport takes a look at the decisions that have proved to be wrong.
IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli’s 5 captaincy decisions that are costing India dearly in T20 Series
India vs England: Musical Chairs with Selection – Suryakumar Yadav: The Mumbai and Mumbai Indians batsman was given his maiden call-up to the national team following a fantastic IPL 2020 and a decent run in the domestic games. With Shreyas Iyer not living up to the expectation in the Australia series, keeping World T20I in mind, Yadav could have been a backup option ahead of Manish Pandey, who has had disappointing runs as well. But Yadav was given one game where he did not even get to bat. He was then dropped in favour of KL Rahul, who was dismissed on two consecutive ducks, apart from 1 in the 1st T20I.
Also read: IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli plays joke on Suryakumar Yadav, Gambhir slams captain’s decision
Constant chopping and changing of opening slot: With India opting to rotate the opening pairs due to injuries to Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, there has been a constant change in the combination in the last 15 months — much like India’s experimentation with No 4 position in ODIs ahead of the 2019 World Cup. During this period, India have tried four opening pairs with Rahul and Dhawan getting the most opportunities. However, in the ongoing T20I series, there have been three opening pairs in three matches with none crossing single-digit score. As Kohli said India’s first-choice openers would be Rohit-Rahul, the England series was the best opportunity to give them the time to settle as the two haven’t played much together in the last 15 months.
Also read: Ind vs Eng T20: 4 Overs 40 Runs, Yuzvendra Chahal’s flop show continues, high time he is replaced
India vs England: Persisting with Yuzvendra Chahal despite poor bowling: Yuzvendra Chahal has been struggling for India with poor bowling. He has been expensive and hasn’t been successful in taking wickets. In this series, he has been expensive, conceding runs at an economy rate of 9.91 and in terms of yields, he has just three. But his dip in performance has been witnessed not just in this series but since 2020. Before 2020, he was India’s wicket-taker but of late, he hasn’t been at his best. Since January 2020, Chahal has an average of 43.88 and an economy of 9.3 with just 9 wickets to show. Sticking with Chahal despite backup options has been a poor decision from the skipper.
Axar Patel was held back and was brought in after Chahal: However, when Axar Patel was given a go in the 1st T20I, he was given only three overs, even though Chahal was smashed all over the park in his four overs. In his allotted overs, Chahal conceded 44 runs, returning with just one wicket. While Patel began India’s bowling attack, he did not get an extended run and was promptly dropped. With Axar Patel fresh from a fantastic Test series against England, his good run of form could be a welcome change while Chahal gets his act right. But dropping Patel has been a poor decision.
Why your best player Rohit Sharma – doesn’t play consistently: India’s hitman Rohit Sharma’s injury has been a problem for India team management. After IPL 2020, his injury ruled him out of the Australia series. While returned and did well in the Test series against Australia and then England, he was rested for the first two T20I matches against England. With him returning to the limited-overs series, it was important for him to get going with World T20 in mind.
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