Article
Reports: Indian Players Seem Unhappy With Virat Kohli
By CricShots - Sep 7, 2018 2:59 pm
Views 67

The India skipper Virat Kohli has received a lot of criticism for his constant chopping and changing in Test matches. It took 38 matches for India under his captaincy to play with the same team in consecutive Tests. While there were some injury concerns every now and then, a few baffling decisions in the name of horses for courses were also taken by Kohli and the coach Ravi Shastri. However, it is being emerged that the players are unhappy with the attempt of constantly changing the team by the team management. 

Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli

According to the reports in the Indian Express, one of the Indian players who toured England opined that the changes have brought insecurities among the players about their own position. He also went on to say that they should’ve given the team a confidence by saying that they will be playing the same team for the first three Tests. But that was not the case.

The team member said, “It would have been better if they had said at the start of the tour, ‘guys, we will go with the same team for the first three Tests. Do your best.’ That gives a different kind of confidence. Kohli is a good man and wants the best for the team and doesn’t mean to create it but the changes make you doubt yourself. It’s our mistake to feel like that probably but we are humans.”

ALSO READ: Lara chooses Kohli and Root as best active batsmen

Apart from the team member, another player was critical of Virat changing the team frequently. He opted to drop Cheteshwar Pujara in the series opener in England. He said, “You start to second guess. Kyun aisey kar rahe hain? You then start feeling you are on your own here.”

Indian cricket team

Moreover, the player also felt that England’s lower-order turned the game in all the matches. The team member also accused the Indian bowlers of relaxing after picking the top-order wickets which eventually hurt the team.

The other player added, “Before the start of the series, it was clear to me that England’s lower-middle order is its strength. You might get their top out but they will fight later. In nearly every game, we let the lower-middle order to score. I got the feeling that when we took the first four wickets cheaply, there was a feeling as if the job was over. We had crushed them. Bit more discipline and proper planning and focus would have been better.”