Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary outlined two glaring mistakes in Rohit Sharma’s captaincy during the first Test match of the three-game series against New Zealand, where the hosts incurred an eight-wicket loss on Sunday to trail 0-1 in the contest. He also blamed head coach Gautam Gambhir for not guiding Rohit, especially after his Ravichandran Ashwin stance on Day 5 of the match.
No India bowler has taken more wickets in the second innings of a Test match at home than Ashwin (197). Yet, on Sunday, as India looked to defend a below-par total of 107, Rohit introduced Ashwin as the fifth bowler in the innings, when New Zealand required just 10 runs to win.
The tactical choice left Tiwary unimpressed, as he reckoned that Rohit should have gone with the combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin with the new ball.
“Rohit admitted that he misread the pitch which is why India picked the wrong playing XI. India should have played two spinners, instead of three. And I had predicted that one of the spinners would be under-bowled, but I never imagined that would be Ashwin. He has over 500 wickets. When you are defending 107, why didn’t you bring him in the attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah,” he told Cricbuzz.
Tiwary felt while “good captains” do make mistakes, the head coach should have stepped up in this instance to guide Rohit, which he failed to notice.
“Sometimes good captains also make mistakes, that is why the role of a coach is so important with providing constant guidelines. I don’t know why that did not happen,” he added.
‘Akash Deep must have bee shocked’
The former Bengal captain wants India to rethink about opting Mohammed Siraj as their second fast bowler after the right-hander failed to pick up a second-innings wicket in the last seven Test matches.
Tiwary wants Gambhir and Rohit to rest Siraj and go with an in-form Akash Deep, who picked five wickets in the two Test matches against Bangladesh last week, preceded by a nine-wicket haul in the opening round of the Duleep Trophy. He also named Mayank Yadav, who was added to the team as a travelling reserve, as an option if India do require three fast bowlers.
“I believe that if you have a bowler who is in rhythm, is picking wickets in international and domestic cricket, and has that X factor as well, pick him in the squad and play him. Siraj has not picked a single wicket in the second innings in Tests this year, which is quite concerning. He should have been rested for a few games, so that he gets the time to focus on the basics and work on his release. We have a lot of back-up bowlers. Akash Deep performed impressively against Bangladesh. His confidence level was high. He never would have imagined not playing the first Test in those conditions. He must have been left shocked not seeing his name in the playing XI. But he is certain to bounce. You also have Mayank Yadav in Bengaluru with the team, right after featuring in the T20I series. Players like him should have been used,” he said.
