Correspondent, 18 October: Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed deep concern over the team's dismal bowling performance during the recently concluded five-match T20 series against the West Indies, which ended in a tie. Gavaskar strongly questioned the team management's strategy, pointing out that prioritizing eight batsmen in the playing XI has severely weakened the bowling attack.
The vulnerability of the Indian bowlers was heavily exposed as the West Indies breached the 200-run mark three times during the series, including scoring over 240 runs in two games. In most matches, the team fielded only three main bowlers. The issue was starkly evident in the fourth T20 match, where the Caribbean side amassed 247 runs. During that fixture, India had only Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Prince Yadav as specialist bowlers. The team heavily relied on all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, and Naman Dhir to cover the remaining overs, a tactic that ultimately cost the team heavily.
Addressing the situation, Gavaskar advised that the team must take the field with four primary bowlers regardless of the circumstances. "India should play at least four specialist bowlers in their playing 11. The fifth and sixth options should be an all-rounder who can also bat," he stated.
Citing the examples of Axar Patel and Naman Dhir, Gavaskar further elaborated on the team's search for all-rounders. "I feel that often in the pursuit of finding a replacement for Hardik Pandya, we lose our way. No one can take Hardik's place. If you cannot find an all-rounder of that caliber, then play a useful player. Naman Dhir is doing that job," he remarked.
Indian captain Shreyas Iyer also acknowledged the disappointing bowling display while speaking after the series finale. "If we had bowled well in the second and fourth matches, the result would have been different. Their batting was truly commendable. Shai Hope batted brilliantly throughout the series," Iyer said.
