Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif slammed the team’s think tank for leaving out Ravi Bishnoi in the third T20I against England. Bishnoi conceded 60 runs in his quota of four overs in the second game at Old Trafford, Manchester as he was not up to the mark.
The leg-spinner was taken for 29 runs in the 17th over by Jacob Bethell, and it turned out to be the game-changing moment. Prince Yadav replaced Bishnoi in the playing XI for the third game and the Delhi fast bowler returned with impressive figures of 2-30 in his quota of four overs.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Ravi Bishnoi was dropped after just one poor game. Tell me this. If you’re waiting for a player to fail before making changes, then what exactly is your strategy? You’re simply reacting to results. You’re changing direction every time. It’s like you don’t even know your own identity, what your team’s planning is, or what your strategy is.”
Kaif reckons Gautam Gambhir-led team management should have backed Ravi Bishnoi after one bad match.
He added, “When the team loses, a player gets dropped immediately. Take Ravi Bishnoi, for example. He had bowled a no-ball, I can understand the criticism. But where is the long-term planning? Every team backs a specialist leg-spinner. One bad match can happen to anyone. We should have backed him instead of dropping him straight away. Every player has a poor game. Some even have two or three. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for ducks three times during the World Cup, but the team continued to back him, didn’t they? That’s exactly my point. India gave up on Bishnoi too quickly. It was the wrong call.”
The former UP batter highlighted that the team would never perform at its best if there is continuous chopping and changing in the team’s playing XI.
“If this is how you’re going to pick the team, every player will start feeling insecure. They’ll think that whenever the team loses, someone is bound to be dropped. Once that insecurity creeps into the dressing room, the team will never perform at its best. I understand that Bishnoi bowled poorly, even conceded a no-ball and had a forgettable outing. But he still deserved another opportunity.”
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
