“Not really surprised”: Ex-India cricketer in shock defeat against Ireland, explains why | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Former India batsman Ambati Rayudu admitted he was “not really surprised” by India’s 0-2 T20I series loss to Ireland, saying the reigning world champions were unprepared for the very different conditions after the top-flight Indian Premier League season.India, led by Shreyas Iyer, suffered a historic series lime after losing the second T20I by a run in Belfast, with their batsmen struggling to adapt to the slow, two-pace surfaces.“No, I’m not really surprised because I don’t think they were prepared well enough for the conditions they encountered,” Rayudu told PTI. “It’s always very, very difficult to go from really flat tracks to slightly spongy wickets that still have some lateral movement.”The former India international felt that the transition from the batting friendly IPL pitches to the testing conditions in Ireland exposed the technical deficiencies in the batting unit.“Most guys are so used to having these really fast bat-swings, the in-between game and down-swing control is a big concern,” the 40-year-old explained.
Rayudu identifies Tilak’s challenge, urges patience with Sooryavanshi
Rayudu also highlighted an area that Indian vice-captain Tilak Varma needs to improve on despite his struggling 55 in the second T20I.“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 comes across wickets on which the ball doesn’t really come to the bat, that’s when we’ve seen him struggle a little bit to increase the tempo.”According to Rayudu, Tilak’s reluctance to use his feet against the back limits his scoring options on slower tracks.“Against the spinners, he likes to access the square boundaries a lot more…. he doesn’t use his feet much. He doesn’t sweep the ball field and there are a lot of shots that he doesn’t play conventionally. If he improves that side of his game, the increase in time will be secondary, a byproduct of that,” he explained.The former Chennai Super Kings batsman also weighed in on the growing calls for 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to make his India debut after being left out of the two matches against Ireland.“It’s always good to go with your seasoned openers who have done really well (and) won the World Cup. Giving them the first round, a lot of opportunities is very, very important,” Rayudu said.“He experienced what the dressing room of the Indian team is like, what to expect, what should be his role. So, there are so many things that he has to learn in this tour, which eventually will help him. But I don’t really rush to get him in a bilateral just because we haven’t won a couple of games,” he added.Despite India’s disappointing results, Rayudu believes the upcoming five-match T20I series in England will present a completely different challenge.“I don’t really read much into it because going to England, those wickets are much, much better than what they have encountered here,” he said, expressing confidence that the conditions would suit India’s batting style better.
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