Debasis Sen in London
A batting debacle at Lord’s saw India lose the third Test against England by 22 runs. With two matches to go, the hosts are 2-1 up. Karun Nair has tallied only 131 runs in six innings at 21.83, failing to provide the solidity expected from a No. 3. Former India opener WV Raman, speaking to RevSportz from Chennai, said Nair has been given a fair chance. He questioned the move to drop Sai Sudharsan after one Test, suggesting he should either have not played that game or given a longer run.
Where did India go wrong on the final day at Lord’s?
WV Raman: In hindsight, you can always say they could have done this and done that. They were pegged back on the fourth evening and the early loss of Rishabh Pant on the fifth day was a big blow. It was a big boost for England. Perhaps, India could have forced the issue a little bit during the partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy. That could have been worth a try because playing out time did not put any pressure on England. Maybe the idea was to play long without taking chances.
Is there a room for concern ahead of the Manchester Test, given the way Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled against Jofra Archer at Lord’s?
Raman: I think Jaiswal has done well so far in his Test career. It will be premature to be harsh on him because of a couple of failures. Karun Nair has been given a fair number of chances. There might be a rethink about his place at Old Trafford. Just because we lost at Lord’s, doesn’t necessarily mean we need to make changes. You only make a change when you think who is preparing hard and can add value to the team.
Was Shubman Gill’s batting affected after his face-off with the England players and do you see changes in the XI for the fourth Test?
Raman: These were the same bowlers he (Gill) got runs against in the first two Test matches, almost 600 runs. I think we are reading too much unnecessarily. It’s just that he had a failure. He is good enough to score big runs in the remaining two matches. As for changes in the XI, it will depend on the conditions. It is always better for the team management to take a call based on value addition rather than resorting to knee-jerk reaction.
Do you expect Sai Sudharsan to be given more opportunities? Does it concern you that players like him and Sarfaraz Khan have been dropped without getting a long rope?
Raman: I think the team management should have made him (Sudharsan) wait. There is no point in playing a player for one Test and benching him. The same person who played in the second and third Tests could have been chosen for the first. Even for someone like Abhimanyu Easwaran, it is fair to give them a string of chances. One odd sporadic Test is not going to work for the individual or the team.
Abhimanyu had travelled to Australia as well but did not get a game. Your thoughts.
Raman: People have to take a call on him. There is of course no point in carrying a cricketer tour after tour and not giving him opportunities. Judgmental calls are fine because that’s the nature of the beast in cricket. Coaches and selectors do make judgmental calls. The thing is that there comes a time where it becomes a little bit tricky for everybody concerned because the player himself doesn’t know how he is looked at.
The team management is also not sure what to do with one particular player. I am not saying Abhimanyu is not good. It’s better if the decision makers come to a conclusion and decide what exactly he is all about. He has been performing in domestic cricket for a long time. He has been part of the A sides. He is even being made the captain of the A side, which means they do rate him. But he doesn’t seem to be getting the nod.
You have been part of the coaching set-up of various teams over the last two decades. What is the mindset change you notice, especially with regard to young players?
Raman: They like to get on with the game. They like to play at a faster pace and they are also brought up on playing aggressive cricket. Whether that is the recipe to succeed in all the formats is debatable. But that’s the way they are. Our boys have really adapted to Test cricket well.
You faced some of the best fast bowlers in your brief Test career, especially those from the West Indies and Allan Donald at his peak. How difficult is an opener’s job in a country like England and how impressed have you been with KL Rahul?
Raman: The pitches and the conditions in England are nowhere near what it was in the past. These days, you seem to be getting good summers, which mean nice and hard surfaces and not much of lateral movement. But there again, it’s not just the case of conditions alone but playing against the best in the business. Rahul has made a few good adjustments to his batting which is enabling him to be an ideal opener. He has got the template to be reckoned as a perfect opening batsman.
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