Former India coach Sarandeep Singh spoke about India’s loss in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. He said India picking the wrong 11 and veteran players missing big chances is the reason behind their loss at ICC events.

In what was their ninth consecutive loss in ICC events, India suffered a massive 209-run defeat against Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship. They hit and threw poorly and didn’t even look like a contender for the five days of the game.

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They were set a target of 444 runs to chase and to the delight of many they started positively ending Day 4 with 7 wickets in hand and 280 runs to win. There was some hope that India could pursue the target. But they collapsed on the morning of Day 5 and lost every wicket in a single session to lose the game.

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Sarandeep Singh defended Rohit Sharma, who has faced backlash over his captaincy. He admitted there was slack in the lead because the fans were used to Virat Kohli’s aggressive nature. He also lashed out at the management for not playing Ravichandran Ashwin. Speaking to ANI, he said:

“We can say that there was some slack in the captaincy. We have a habit of Virat Kohli’s aggression. When the team is down, the captain lifts their spirits, but Rohit Sharma is completely different. It wasn’t Rohit Sharma’s mistake… we lost the WTC final and we’re all upset.

“Firstly our playing XI was wrong… Ravichandran Ashwin is a great bowler and can take wickets. They (Australia) had five left-handers and Travis Head, who scored runs, was also left-handed. So if Ashwin was there, this might not have been the story.”

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IND vs. WI: “The problem lies with the veteran players,” Sarandeep Singh touts the failure of great players as the reason behind India’s defeat.

The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja all failed to make half a century in the game. They were back in the cabin for low scores, which was likely the reason behind their loss.

Sarandeep Singh pointed out that big players not playing big games have cost India tournaments. He suggested that BCCI should prepare batting-friendly pitches in India to allow batsmen to bat for long in Tests. He explained:

“The problem lies with the older players, when big games come, like the 2019 World Cup semi-final or the Asian Cup, our older players don’t fit in.

“We should give good batting grounds in the home series so our hitter can hit longer. It has been a long time since our batsmen have batted much in Test cricket.”

The India team will be seen in action when they travel to the West Indies for the full tour. They will play 2 Tests, 3ODIs and 5T20Is in the Caribbean. The Tour will start from July 12.

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