Pundits and former players highlighted India’s struggles with the bat on Saturday after the Twenty20 World Cup champions suffered back-to-back series defeats to England and Ireland.
England beat India by 56 runs in the fifth and final T20I in Southampton, with the hosts sealing a 4-0 series victory after the first match ended in a no-win due to rain. That series defeat came after Ireland completed a 2-0 T20 whitewash last month.
Player-turned-commentator Dinesh Karthik said that India’s batting unit had lost pace throughout the tour.
“I think India are having trouble adjusting to a bit of extra bounce,” he told cricket news site Cricbuzz.
“The middle order looks shaky, lacking confidence, and is definitely not the Indian team we saw during the World Cup or earlier in bilateral series, where they trounced their opponents and imposed a lot of fear. Where has that gone?”
India captain Shreyas Iyer said their failure to adapt to different conditions had cost them the series.
“We kept going from place to place and kept facing challenges, especially in terms of the dimensions, the wickets, the conditions, only to adapt as quickly as we could have anticipated. That didn’t happen,” Iyer, who was named T20I captain in June, told reporters.
India great Sunil Gavaskar said the team’s batting had had concerns throughout the series.
“I think batting really has to be part of the party, because batting is the strongest part of this Indian team, and if the strongest part is that you know you are not doing well, then it is no wonder that it has an effect on your bowling and your catching,” he added.
Commentator Harsha Bhogle said the defeat could be a wake-up call for India.
“Basically, England beat India with a style that India considered its own,” he said. “If India is willing to see this result as something that has shed light on its cracks, a lot of good can come from it.”
India will next play three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against England starting Tuesday.
