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Tilak Verma sure to slip from Indian team? India vs England 4th T20 match will be played at Bristol Cricket Ground. It is important for the Men in Blue to win this match to keep their hopes alive for the series; Otherwise, they are on the verge of losing back-to-back T20I series for the first time since 2018/19.
India are already trailing 2-0 as they suffered a massive defeat by 125 runs in the last game as they were bowled out for 76 while chasing the target of 202. India’s 125-run defeat against England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge is their biggest defeat by runs in men’s T20I history, and was also their second lowest score in history.
“He really needs to improve his ability” – Mohammad Kaif on Tilak Verma’s inability to play spin
Tilak Verma is a cause of concern for Team India, as he has been struggling to score runs for the last few months. Before the fourth T20 match, former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif has taken a tough dig at the vice-captain of the team. Kaif is surprised to see that Tilak Verma is unable to handle the spin well and is also not able to rotate the strike.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said, “He really needs to improve his ability against spin. I am honestly surprised that an Indian batsman struggles so much against spin. Forget hitting boundaries, he is not even able to rotate the strike. Many players who cannot attack spin, at least take singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard going. Tilak is not doing that either.”
“He feels the pressure” – Mohammad Kaif feels Tilak Verma is running against time
Mohammad Kaif also feels that Tilak’s failure to rotate the strike and play more dot balls forced him to take risks and play big shots in pressure situations. He believes that southpaws should hit the ball to the right area and rotate the strike as little as possible.
“As a result, the dot balls keep piling up. Then he feels the pressure to play the big shot, and in the process, he gets out, just like he did when he was stumped. That’s why I’m really worried about his quality against spin. The ball is not even spinning much. Just vary the pace a bit and bowl in the right areas, and he struggles to score.”
Mohammad Kaif advised Tilak Verma to change his game
Mohammad Kaif also feels that if Tilak Verma fails to score runs in the middle overs and also fails to score big runs, then it will be difficult for him to remain in the team. So far, the southpaw has scored 19, 55, 13, 24 not out and 3 in his last five innings.
“He has to improve his game against spin. Otherwise, he will keep getting stuck in T20 cricket. Even yesterday, he was at 3 off 11 balls. That’s why you often see him at 19 off 19.”
“This is because he plays a lot of dot balls against spin and is not able to hit boundaries in the middle overs. Then, when the death overs come, he starts hitting boundaries and takes them to cover. But scoring 20 runs off 20 balls in the middle overs is very risky.