India vs Australia: Virat Kohli's "Selection Blunders" In Perth Baffle Sunil Gavaskar
India went in with four fast bowlers in the Perth Test, a decision that raised many eyebrows.
Highlights
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Kohli also backed misfiring openers KL Rahul, Murali Vijay to regain form
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Gavaskar said that the roles of Kohli and Shastri need to be assessed
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Australian spinner Nathan Lyon played a pivotal role with eight wickets
Team India skipper Virat Kohli faced stiff criticism after his side's crushing 146-run loss to Australia in the second Test in Perth on Tuesday. Former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar hit out at "selection blunders" after Australia levelled the four-match series 1-1 at the Optus Stadium. Gavaskar said that the roles of Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri need to be assessed if India fail to perform in the final two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. "If India fail to win the next two matches, the selectors need to think whether we are getting any benefit from this lot - the captain, coach and support staff," Gavaskar told Aaj Tak TV news network.
Gavaskar was baffled by India's selection for the second Test, where they failed to include a specialist spinner while Australia's Nathan Lyon played a pivotal role with eight wickets and was named man of the match.
He added that since India's tour of South Africa at the start of the year, picking wrong players "has lost matches which could've been won".
However, Kohli defended the decision to go for an all-pace attack after the loss.
"We as a team didn't think we definitely wanted to consider a spinner on this pitch, especially looking at the pitch on day one and how we thought it would play the first three days, which is how it did play," Kohli said at the post-match press conference.
"We thought the fast bowlers were going to be more productive for us as a team.
"They executed their plans to 95 percent of what we expected and you can be happy with that.
"We were pretty convinced going in with four fast bowlers, looking at the conditions, and I think they did pretty well," he added.
Kohli also backed misfiring openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay to regain form.
Ravichandran Ashwin is expected to be fit and available for selection for the third Test, starting in Melbourne from December 26.
(With AFP Inputs)
India Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team
Virat Kohli
Sunil Gavaskar