Former Australian captain Ian Chappell reacted on the Indian team during the last three Tests against England. He believes the hosts did the right thing by dropping out of form Shreyas Iyer from the team for the rest of the series.
One of the highlights of the Indian team during the last three Tests against England was the omission of Shreyas Iyer. The batsman went through a torrid spell in the longest format of the game and failed to capitalize on the opportunities given to him.
Shreyas Iyer failed in all four innings he played in the ongoing Test series against England. The batsman started quite well in all the innings, but failed to capitalize on the starts he got, which led him to face a lot of backlash for his outings.
Shreyas Iyer has gone eight Test innings without a half-century, which speaks volumes about his form in the format. The batsman died with the spinner off him and also looked irritated against the pacers. He, too, was under the radar and eventually faced the team’s axe.
Ian Chappell analyzed the Indian team and said that the hosts are strong and noted that the addition of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja will strengthen them further. He hoped that the team management would now value Kuldeep Yadav more. In his column for ESPNCricinfo, he explained:
“India is a strong team and they also have a good leader in Rohit Sharma. They will be greatly strengthened by the recovery of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul from their injuries, but Virat Kohli not returning for the rest of the series is a blow. Hopefully, the selectors will now stop overestimating Shreyas Iyer’s batting ability and learn to value Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking ability more.”
It will help England enormously if Stokes is able to function as an all-rounder again – Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell further added that England will be strong if Ben Stokes starts bowling and plays as an all-rounder. He also believes the England captain should avoid slips and be proactive with the bat from the start. He added:
“It will help England enormously if Stokes is once again able to function as an all-rounder as his bowling is a different weapon. He would also help if he lined up the slips, especially towards the spinners, as he is one of the best in that position.
“One personal area Stokes could consider is his own batting. If he were more proactive at the beginning of each inning, he would improve his game. Stokes is a very good hitter, but he is at his best when he is looking to score.”
Ben Stokes has not bowled in the ongoing Test series against India. He has had a lot of trouble bowling lately due to his knee problems. The all-rounder recently underwent surgery and hopes to bowl soon.
The series between India and England is currently stuck at 1-1. The third match between the teams will be played from February 15 in Rajkot.