India vs Australia Gabba Test: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are facing criticism for the way they have lost their wickets during the ongoing Test series against Australia but youngsters Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant are also not showing the required patience to spend time at the crease. Due to which the problems of the team have increased a lot. Patience is the biggest weapon in batting in a Test match and it develops in a player over time. When Kohli was in his golden phase between 2014 and 2019, he showed this patience well.
On the basis of his excellent technique, Lokesh Rahul has explained how to deal with these situations by playing innings of 77 and 84 runs in Perth and Brisbane respectively during the current series. Talking about Jaiswal, he has disappointed except 161 runs in the second innings in Perth. The way he uses his steps near the crease, there is always a risk of getting LBW.
Gill is eager to drive the balls outside the off-stump by playing them away from the body and is continuously losing his wicket in this attempt. Pant, known for his aggressive attitude, is also not able to adjust to the balls bouncing five meters away from the crease. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and his assistant Abhishek Nair can find a solution to this problem.
Nair is known in the Mumbai cricket world as a ‘mixture of mind coach and life coach’. A former great player of India said on the condition of confidentiality that it is not necessary that a great player proves to be a good coach or that a great coach is a great player. The player, who has played more than 100 Test matches for India, said, “Not all great players or iconic players are great coaches. They must have done some incredible things as players and know what to do during a particular situation.” And how to respond.”
He said, “Coaching is a science and many people cannot explain why certain things need to be done. Gautam also used to give catches in the slip quite often in Australia and England.” He said, “You can make some changes in the technique of young players but it is difficult to do the same with experienced players. They do not get enough time to work on their game in the busy calendar. Kohli has been working on his technique for the last three-four years. It is disappointing to see the same dismissals again and again. Everyone is aware of the shortcomings in his technique but can anyone tell him how to overcome this?
Barring the 2021 tour of England, their performance in the host countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) has been very disappointing. Former veteran batsman Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the usefulness of a batting coach in the team when the technique of Indian batsmen did not improve. He wrote on ‘X’, “I think the time has come to examine the role of the batting coach in the Indian team. Why have major technical issues with some Indian batsmen remained unresolved for so long?”
This view of Manjrekar raises questions on the role of Sanjay Bangar, Vikram Rathore and now Nair. His official designation in the team may be assistant coach, but he is the batting coach. Former Indian team selector Devang Gandhi, however, was seen defending the current coaches of the Indian team. He said, “It is very easy to target Nair and Gautam but they have not been part of the team for long. Before discussing with a player, you have to live with him for some time and once there is a conflict between the two, “Once that kind of mutual trust is built, you can offer him a solution.”
He said, “The challenge is more to deal with the mental aspect at this level with experienced players.” The former opening batsman, who has been a level two coach at the National Cricket Academy, said, “At the age of 36, Virat cannot be told how to play. He has to accept the fact that he needs about 200 balls to score a century.” He used to score a century in 140 balls, so is he ready to play 60 extra balls?
Indian players can take inspiration from the innings of 241 runs played by great batsman Sachin Tendulkar in Sydney in 2004. Tendulkar did not play his favorite cover drive shot even once until 200 runs were completed in this innings to avoid being caught by slip or wicketkeeper. Gandhi said, “It is about mental strength. You can give suggestions to players like Tendulkar and Kohli but coaching is not possible at this level. Coaching happens at the junior level.”
