Rohit Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy are on the radar as the Indian coach admits that they have been given enough chances but have failed to make the desired impact. Gautam Gambhir’s colleague saved Ravindra Jadeja from the heat.
India lost the second ODI against New Zealand as they failed to defend the total of 284, which was set after a solitary effort from KL Rahul. However, some players of the Indian contingent are finding themselves on the radar after the defeat.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma are some of the names who have been blamed for the defeat in the second ODI against New Zealand. Reddy has been continuously on target and now the Indian assistant coach has also admitted that he has not been able to perform anything special for the team.
Hinting at Nitish Kumar Reddy’s possible omission from the ODI team, the Indian coach said, “He often doesn’t perform well in games.”
Indian assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has failed to make an impact whenever he has been given a chance to play for India in limited-overs cricket.
After Nitish Reddy was out at almost 20 runs a ball and was unable to take any wickets in the two overs played in the match, the assistant coach commented that despite making all efforts to develop his skills, whenever Nitish Reddy has been given game time, he has disappointed, as he ““Ultimately, I can’t do anything special in sports.”
“For someone who is making his way, especially tonight (Wednesday) with the bat, it was the perfect opportunity where you are walking into that position, and you have got a chance to spend 15 overs on the wicket. You have to really take those opportunities to put your case forward to get selected,” the former Dutch player said.
He also revealed that India preferred to play with three spinners in their mind, which resulted in favoring Ayush Badoni instead of any other batsman as a replacement for Washington Sundar.
“Looking at the way the New Zealand spinners bowled, we could have done with one more spinner,” Ten Doeschate said.
Rohit Sharma is not as fluent as he has been – Ryan ten Doeschate
He then gave his valuable feedback on Indian superstar opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who returned to domestic cricket to allow continuity between the series hiatus but despite this, the assistant coach feels that he has missed cricket.
“Rohit Sharma, I thought tonight, especially, both innings were really new-ball wickets. Didn’t seem easy to bat on. In a short period of time, if you take the first ODI, he (Rohit Sharma) has not been as fluent, and not playing cricket in between the series is going to be a challenge for him,” Ten Doeschate said.
Asked whether Rohit Sharma has changed his approach towards the game after being removed from the captaincy and given an ultimatum to maintain his form to retain a place in the playing XI, the Indian coach said he does not think so.
“He’s definitely not the kind of guy who can play for himself. It’s just the combination of wickets that is a bit difficult and maybe a bit of a lack of cricket ahead of the series,” he said.
Indian assistant coach looks positive about KL Rahul and backs experienced Ravindra Jadeja
After the masterclass of KL Rahul’s innings in Rajkot, which was played in conditions where half the team was sent back to the pavilion, it was worthy of some praise from Indian coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Making special mention, he said that due to the form Rahul has shown in the middle order, there is every possibility of his remaining at number one. At 5th place and then there will be all-rounders. Therefore, any other all-rounder like Washington or Axar Patel will not be promoted above Rahul in the batting order.
Defending Ravindra Jadeja’s recent poor statistics, particularly with the ball in ODI cricket, Ryan ten Doeschate said, “I don’t think he’s feeling the heat. His statistics are strange, and he’s probably been a bit light on wickets of late.”
“But it’s not a matter of concern. The things we have seen in terms of his bowling pace and the things we have asked him to work on, I think he is actually bowling better. So, hopefully the wickets will come with a little interval,” he said.
Also read: Rohit Sharma got disappointed after the defeat in Rajkot ODI against New Zealand and the crowd started chanting “How should our captain be…”