Indian cricket team (PTI Photo)
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has questioned India’s team combination after Shreyas Iyer and his side suffered a 24-run defeat to West Indies in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad, arguing that the management prioritised batting depth over a stronger bowling attack.India entered the contest with four specialist bowlers and two all-rounders, but the combination failed to contain the West Indies batters, who piled up 247/3 in their 20 overs. The hosts responded with an aggressive batting effort but could manage only 223 before being bowled out, allowing the visitors to level the five-match series 2-2.
Kaif felt India’s selection was not suited to the conditions and said the team needed to rely on specialist bowlers rather than expect its batting line-up to compensate for a lack of bowling options."Having batting till No.8 is not bravery. Bravery is playing your proper bowlers on a good batting wicket. A brave call is one where you pick seven batters and five proper bowlers, including Axar Patel as the all-rounder. Bravery is not allowing the opposition to score 250 and then saying we'll chase it down. If you actually play with five main bowlers, you won't need to chase so many. The flatter the conditions, the more specialist bowlers should play," Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
India’s difficulties with the ball have been evident across the series. They were unable to defend a target of 250 in the second T20I, while they conceded 209 in the third match despite securing a 14-run win. The latest defeat further highlighted their struggles to restrict the West Indies batting line-up.Kaif also questioned India’s decision to leave out
Kuldeep Yadav
, arguing that the left-arm wrist-spinner could have offered a valuable wicket-taking option on the Hyderabad surface.
He suggested that India should have considered sacrificing an extra batter to improve the balance of the side."I would have played Kuldeep Yadav.
Rashid Khan
made a name for himself on this Hyderabad track only. The top 4 in the ICC rankings are all leg-spinners. So on a flat track, Kuldeep Yadav would have been even more useful," he said.
Kaif added that the pitch conditions could have worked in Kuldeep’s favour, with changes of pace and additional bounce potentially helping the spinner trouble the opposition batters."Just the change of pace and the extra bounce from the Hyderabad pitch would have assisted him. India could have easily dropped a batter and picked another bowler," he added.The series is now level at 2-2, leaving both teams with one match to decide the outcome. The fifth and final T20I will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.