West Indian great Sir Andy Roberts lashes out at Rohit Sharma & Co for mediocre show against Australia in WTC final at The Oval; says India have underestimated rest of the world and must decide what their focus is—Test or limited overs matches
India players after their loss to Australia at The Oval on Sunday. Pic/Getty Images
India’s performance in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia has not only displeased their former greats. Out there in the Caribbean, Sir Andy Roberts, the erstwhile leader of the West Indies pace pack in the 1970s and 1980s, too didn’t hold back the hard talk while reacting to India’s 209-run loss on Sunday.
“There is this arrogance which has crept into Indian cricket and through this, India have underestimated the rest of the world. India must decide what their focus is—Test cricket or limited overs cricket. T20 cricket will run its course. There is no contest between bat and ball there,” Roberts, 72, told mid-day from Antigua on Tuesday.
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Sir Andy Roberts
Australia’s all-round strength notwithstanding, he expected a better show from Rohit Sharma’s team. “I expected India to show their batting strength. I saw no bright spot in the final although Ajinkya Rahane fought hard; got hit on his hand. Shubman Gill looks good when he plays those shots, but he stands on leg stump and is often dismissed bowled or caught behind. He has good hands, but he must get behind the ball. Virat Kohli, though, got a brute of a delivery from Mitchell Starc in the first innings. India have some very good players mind you, but they have not performed creditably away from home,” said Roberts.
While the Antiguan, like most experts, found not picking Ravichandran Ashwin shocking (“Dropping Ashwin was ridiculous. How can you not pick your best spinner? Unbelievable.”), the think-tank’s decision to pick four quick bowlers (Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur) appeared fine to him except the fact that not one of those four is very tall. “That would have made a difference in terms of bounce,” said Roberts.
Did he expect India to chase 444 after being 164 for three on Day Four? “I harboured no such hopes. I knew they would collapse. The batting in both innings was bad,” he said. India travel to the West Indies for a two-Test series, three ODIs and a five-match T20 series. He refrained offering an opinion on how would those matches pan out since the squads haven’t been announced, but predicted rain affecting a few games.
Also Read: Can India's 'Big Three' redeem themselves after seismic defeat during WTC final?
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