West Indian cricket legend Sir Andy Roberts has slammed the Indian cricket team after their capitulation in the World Test Championship Final, where they lost to Australia by 209 runs. This comes on the heels of their defeat to New Zealand in the 2021 finale.
“There is this arrogance which has crept into Indian cricket and through this, India have underestimated the rest of the world. India must decide what their focus is: Test cricket or limited overs cricket. T20 cricket will run its course. There is no contest between bat and ball there,” Roberts told mid-day in an interview from Antigua on Tuesday.
He went on to add: “I expected India to show their batting strength. I saw no bright spot in the final although Ajinkya Rahane fought hard; got hit on his hand. Shubman Gill looks good when he plays those shots, but he stands on leg stump and is often dismissed bowled or caught behind. He has good hands, but he must get behind the ball. Virat Kohli, though, got a brute of a delivery from Mitchell Starc in the first innings. India have some very good players mind you, but they have not performed creditably away from home.”
Roberts added that he was shocked by the ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unbelievable’ decision to bench Ravichandran Ashwin for the game.
India’s defeat earned them sharp reactions from many former India players.
India had beaten Australia 2-1 in their last four-Test series to regain the World No 1 test ranking last month from the Australians. But at the neutral Oval, India chased the game after winning the toss and failing to exploit ideal, first-morning bowling conditions. Many experts pointed out that India were never really in the game after winning the toss and opting to bowl first.
India has gone 10 years without winning a men’s global trophy, including the first world Test final in 2021 against New Zealand in Southampton.
