JOIN USFormer New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull has questioned Indian team’s selection policy in the ongoing five-match ODI series, which the visitors have already lost, and said he was surprised by the side’s reluctance to change things around them.
The Men in Blue haven’t won a game in the ongoing tour so far, losing three of the four ODIs (one in Napier and twice in Hamilton), while tying one match at Auckland. The visitors also lost lost their hard-earned number one ODI ranking.
“I am surprised by the reluctance shown by the Indian team to change things around in this series,” said Doull, after India lost the fourth ODI in Hamilton by seven wickets.
“They bowled first throughout the series and then batted in a must-win game. Before that they selected two new players in the eleven and made a whole lot of changes in their batting line-up. They changed too much at one go and usually it doesn’t work like that,” he insisted.
“After the first two ODIs, it was clear that the New Zealand batsmen had found out a weakness in their spin bowling, particularly during the middle overs. But they still persisted with Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. Don’t get me wrong, they are both fantastic cricketers, but why not try Amit Mishra once? He is a leg-spinner and could have used the bounce better, and more than anything else, it would have been a change when the series was still there to play for.
“It is just one of many things that have gone wrong for India, but they didn’t react to it quickly enough,” he added.
The Indian bowling has also come under heavy criticism from skipper MS Dhoni, who expressed his dissatisfaction time and again during the series, and most lately after the loss in Hamilton.