Darren Lehmann Suggests India to Rethink After Losing T20 World Cup
Former England player turned commentator Nasser Hussain has already spoken about India’s conservative approach to playing the shortest format of the game. Adding on the same point of discussion post the T20 World Cup exit, Australia’s ex-player Darren Lehmann has suggested India to rethink its batting approach. Indian openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have lately failed to capitalize on the powerplay which has put India in trouble.
In the T20 World semi-final game versus England, India lost their first wicket in the second over itself. Rohit Sharma too was cautious at hitting runs and was eventually dismissed in the 9th over. With Virat Kohli’s half-century and Hardik Pandya’s ability to switch gears in the death overs, the team made 168 runs. The pitch was suitable for the batsman and it was seen in the performances of Jos Buttler and Alex Hales.
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India needs to rethink its approach in T20 cricket: Darren Lehmann
India’s slow start has not once but several times left the middle-order batsmen in an unnecessary pressure situation. “With the kind of batting strength India has, you have to wonder why they played with such a cautious approach in the first 10 overs against England. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul needed to take more risks at the start, but instead, they played very safe. As a result, there was too much for the batsmen at the end to do in the death overs,” said Lehmann.
Lehmann gave due credit to the men in blue and called them a competitive side. He said that it was time for the management and players to rethink why the team wasn’t doing well despite the availability. When Lehmann was asked about if playing overseas leagues would have helped India in the T20 World Cup, he bluntly denied it. He pointed out that a month of IPL before last year’s T20 World Cup couldn’t do any good to the team.
“IPL was held in UAE last two seasons? And the T20 World Cup happened in the UAE last year, right? Did India win that? I don’t think it is about getting overseas experience. The Indian players have enough T20 experience and enough experience of playing across various conditions. It is a matter of getting their act right,” he said.
