As India’s recent white-ball tour of Sri Lanka has exposed the young batsmen's inability to tackle spin, former Indian batsman VVS Laxman admitted that youngsters’ inability to convert starts to big scores while playing quality spin on slow pitches is one of the causes of concerns for India to address.
He further pointed out that nowadays batsmen are too much focusing on power-hitting and playing pace, thinking that tackling spin has gone out of fashion and that’s where the NCA coaches and the team management need to work on to arrest this trend.
His comments came after the Indian cricket team could score only 81 runs in the third T20I and lost the game as well as the three-match T20I series to Sri Lanka. The former cricketer also said the young batsmen will rue wasting the opportunities given to them in Sri Lanka.
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Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India: “What this tour has done is highlighted how much work lies ahead of India’s young batsmen. Among the areas of concern is the inability to convert starts to big scores, and a marked decline in standards while playing quality spin on slow pitches.”
He further added, “Young batsmen focus so much on power-hitting and playing pace that tackling spin has gone out of fashion. To arrest this disturbing trend, it is incumbent upon coaches at the NCA and those with state teams to impress upon their wards the ingredients required to maneouvre the ball by bringing soft hands into play, among other things.”
The former batsman also said Sri Lanka deserved to win the T20I series for the way they bounced back in the series following series of defeats while expressing his disappointment at the young Indians’ failure.
Laxman said, “Sri Lanka has every reason to celebrate their deserved T20 series victory with gusto. They have endured trying times in the recent past, including heavy defeats on their tour of England and the loss of key batsmen due to various reasons ahead of the series against India. Their transition phase since the retirement of legends like Murali, Mahela, and Sanga has been long and arduous, and even though this win came against a depleted Indian side, that should take nothing away from Sri Lanka.”
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He mentioned, “From an Indian perspective, some of the young batsmen will rue the opportunities squandered. True, India were reduced to just five specialist batsmen once Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid and consequently they lost nine players, and pitches for the last two T20s were far from ideal for the format. That said, adversity provides the best platform to exhibit character.”
The 46-year-old also lauded Indian spinner Rahul Chahar who managed three wickets in the final T20I and one wicket in the second T20I to make his presence felt in Colombo.
He signed off by saying, “Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy had decent outings but the one who caught my eye was Rahul Chahar. The leggie was aggressive, attacking and penetrative, traits that should certainly bolster his chances for the T20 World Cup later in the year.”
