Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has slammed the Indian team following their nine-wicket loss to England in the fourth T20I of the five-match series as well. The match was played on Thursday, July 9, at the County Ground in Bristol.
Speaking in a video shared on the Star Sports YouTube channel, Nayar said: “They looked underprepared. What is the difference between the two teams? If you look at the way Jofra Archer targeted the Indian batters, there was a clear strategy. They consistently targeted our left-handers with hard lengths and pace. Even the way Will Jacks was used showed proper planning. That is the difference between the two teams. It feels like this team has taken the field without a proper plan. Even during team selection, the options that were available to you don’t seem to be visible. When your team has seven left-handers, it suggests that you haven’t found or chosen the right options.”
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“One thing I don’t understand is that ever since India lost the first match in Ireland, we’ve been saying that India’s bowling plans aren’t visible, and neither are their batting plans. India hasn’t shown the kind of flexibility in either its batting or bowling plans. What we saw against England in the first match is exactly what we’re seeing even now, both in the bowling plans and the batting plans. Even today, our batters are getting out to the short ball. Even today, we didn’t seem to have a plan for how to play the spinners. Will Jacks bowled his four overs and conceded only around 19-20 runs,” he further added.
However, Abhishek Nayar also said that Shreyas Iyer would be under pressure after they suffered back-to-back series defeats under his captaincy. He again added that in difficult situations, captains can often feel isolated in the dressing room, making the support of the coaching staff important as Iyer settles into the role.
“As captain, this is Shreyas Iyer’s second series, and it’s a huge challenge. Often, in situations like these, you feel isolated in the dressing room because when the team is losing, everyone looks to the captain to see whether he has the answers. At that point, one thing becomes extremely important: how the support staff backs you as captain. They’ve been with this team for a long time and have won a World Cup together. The challenge now is how well they integrate Shreyas Iyer into the system and support him in his role as captain,” he concluded.
