India’s defeat to Sri Lanka in the second One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series came as a big surprise to everyone. The team, which won the 2024 T20 World Cup, struggled with their batting and couldn’t reach the target of 241, getting all out for 208. Since the first match was a tie, India is now behind 0-1 in the series. Looking at the overall performance, only captain Rohit Sharma stood out; no other Indian batsman performed up to their potential.
One of the major letdowns in the first two games was star batsman Virat Kohli, who couldn’t score big. In the first match, Kohli was out for 24, and in the second, he made only 14 runs. In both matches, he was dismissed by spin bowlers.
Observing Virat Kohli’s repeated difficulties with spin bowling, former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali commented that India’s weak performance indicated a lack of preparation.
“Even a top-notch player like Virat Kohli, who is ranked number one in the world, has been dismissed LBW twice. It’s acceptable if it happens to Iyer or Dube, but Virat Kohli is a special player. This suggests that he hasn’t been practicing,” Basit explained on his YouTube channel.
“It didn’t look like the batting order that usually dominates globally. I suspect that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul might not have practiced at all. It seems they came unprepared,” he further noted.
Ali also criticized batter Shreyas Iyer for his poor performance and suggested that he should be replaced by players like Rinku Singh, Rishabh Pant, or Riyan Parag.
“I can’t see what Shreyas Iyer is going to achieve with these performances. I believe it’s time for Rishabh Pant, Riyan Parag, and Rinku Singh to step in,” Ali said.
“India’s 50-over domestic tournament is crucial for Gautam Gambhir because he needs to select some players from there. If India chooses players based on their reputation, the results won’t be very good in the Champions Trophy,” he added.
