"Difficult To Go From Flat Tracks To Spongy Wickets": Ex-India Star's Clear Take On Ireland Series Loss
The former batter said he is not surprised by the team's 0-2 loss to Ireland as he believes that Shreyas Iyer and his men were under-prepared for the assignment.
Former India player Ambati Rayudu is not surprised by the team's 0-2 loss to Ireland as he believes that Shreyas Iyer and his men were under-prepared for the assignment, a case in point being finisher Tilak Varma's inability to get going on slower wickets. Speaking exclusively to PTI, Rayudu, who played 55 ODIs and six T20Is for India, said the change in conditions after the IPL became too difficult for the reigning T20 world champions, who lost the second T20I by a mere one run on Sunday in Belfast.
"No, I'm not really surprised because I don't think they were prepared well enough for the conditions that they have encountered. It's always very, very difficult to go from really flat tracks to slightly spongy wickets which have some lateral movement as well,” the former batter said.
"Most of the guys are so used to having these really fast bat-swings, the in-between game and the control of the down-swing is a major concern," added the 40-year-old.
Tilak needs to use feet
Talking about other specific issues which affected the team, Rayudu said for one, Tilak Varma's lack of foot work against slower bowlers needs to be addressed. Tilak struck a valiant 55 in India's narrow loss on Sunday but the knock came off 46 deliveries and failed to provide the momentum that the team needed.
"More than his mental approach, his game against slow bowling on slow surfaces has been kind of a struggle for a while," Rayudu said.
"Whenever he encounters wickets on which the ball does not really come on to the bat, that is where we have seen him struggle a little bit to up the tempo. I really think he needs to work on that side of the game.
"Against spinners, he likes to access the square boundaries a lot more. When you try and do that, you want the ball to come really well onto the bat. Otherwise, it is very difficult because he doesn't use his feet as much," he added.
Rayudu said the 23-year-old also needs to work on his ability to raise the tempo of the game.
"He doesn't sweep on the pitch of the ball and there are a lot of shots that he does not play in a conventional manner. If he improves that side of his game, raising the tempo will be secondary, a by-product of that," Rayudu said.
"(But) he needs some time to really develop that game... because they (Indian players) don't get enough time between series to work on their batting, that is also one reason why we see them struggle to adapt sometimes when the conditions are not in their favour," he added.
England would be different
Rayudu said while playing on such pitches is a major challenge for the Indians, he is not too concerned with the loss to Ireland going into the five-match T20I series against England starting on Wednesday.
"(With) all due respect, they don't get enough wickets even in India to practice on which are of a similar quality. (But) I wouldn't really read much into it because going into England, those wickets are far, far better than what they have encountered here," he said.
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India Cricket Team
Ireland Cricket Team
Ambati Rayudu