Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary questioned India’s selection for the opening Test match against New Zealand, which the hosts lost by eight wickets at Bengaluru. Rohit Sharma and the team’s think tank misjudged the pitch as they included an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav in place of Akash Deep.
New Zealand, on the other hand, played with three seamers in Matt Henry, Tim Southee and William O’Rourke and their decision was validated when they skittled out India at 46 in the first innings.
Meanwhile, Deep had impressed in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, picking five wickets at an average of 20.40.
Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz, “Akash Deep performed impressively against Bangladesh. His confidence level was high. He never would have imagined not playing the first Test in those conditions. He must have been left shocked not seeing his name in the playing XI. But he is certain to bounce. You also have Mayank Yadav in Bengaluru with the team, right after featuring in the T20I series. Players like him should have been used.”
“I believe that if you have a bowler who is in rhythm, is picking wickets in international and domestic cricket, and has that X factor as well, pick him in the squad and play him. Siraj has not picked a single wicket in the second innings in Tests this year, which is quite concerning. He should have been rested for a few games, so that he gets the time to focus on the basics and work on his release. We have a lot of back-up bowlers,” he added,
Tiwary questioned Rohit’s decision to not use Ravichandran Ashwin when India were defending only 107. Ashwin was given the ball when the match was all but done and dusted.
“Rohit admitted that he misread the pitch which is why India picked the wrong playing XI. India should have played two spinners, instead of three. And I had predicted that one of the spinners would be under-bowled, but I never imagined that would be Ashwin. He has over 500 wickets. When you are defending 107, why didn’t you bring him in the attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah,” Tiwary said in the same interaction.
The second Test match between India and New Zealand will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune from Thursday onwards.
