Indian batting let them down in the last two Tests against South Africa.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra raised questions over Team India batting coach Vikram Rathore’s contribution following the side’s poor show with the bat in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa.
Whatever success Team India has had in recent times in overseas conditions is mainly due to the bowlers. The Indian bowling has been consistently performing and winning matches for the team.
However, batting has let Team India down many times. Despite having some big names like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane in the side, india has failed to perform consistently with the bat.
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In the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, Indian batters failed to rise on the occasion and it was one of the main reasons for the series defeat. They managed around just 200 runs in the third innings of the last two Test matches, which were comfortably chased by the hosts.
Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that while everyone has taken credit for India’s bowling improvement, who will take responsibility for the batting decline.
He added that if credit is taken then they should also take responsibility. While pointing out that dip in numbers of Pujara, Kohli, and Rahane, Chopra questioned the batting coach’s role.
"Everyone has taken credit for India's bowling improvement. Some people gave credit to Virat Kohli, some to Bharat Arun, some to Ravi Shastri. Everyone said, 'Indian bowling has improved a lot'. But who is responsible for the batting decline? ...
“If you are taking credit then responsibility needs to be taken as well. The decline is palpable. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Virat Kohli's numbers have dipped in the last 2-2.5 years so where's the batting coach?" Aakash Chopra said.
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Chopra questioned Vikram Rathour’s role in the team, saying that the batting coach needs to be looked at if he’s doing his job or not and how is he addressing the players.
"The batting coach has the responsibility and the buck has to stop somewhere. Vikram Rathour, who is with the team for quite some time, you need to look at him again whether he's doing his job well and if not then what are the shortcomings and how is he addressing them,” he said.
Aakash Chopra further highlighted that Team India has to build a leadership group to succeed Virat Kohli, calling it slight mismanagement.
“We've failed to create a leadership group, honestly speaking. If Ajju had been in good form it would have been a natural succession. That was certainly a plan but his performances were on a downswing in the last two years and we were not ready to look at anywhere else because we believed that Kohli is going to continue for a long time. That didn't happen and there's been a slight mismanagement,” he concluded.