India vs Australia: Former England skipper Michael Vaughan urges India to play aggressively while batting

India vs Australia: Former England skipper Michael Vaughan urges India to play aggressively while batting

Team India lost the recently-concluded One Day International (ODI) series 2-1 against Australia. The home team posted mammoth totals while batting first during the inaugural two matches, and India failed to chase them.  

Former England captain Michael Vaughan pointed out India’s defensive playing style in the limited-overs cricket. He said that the ‘Men in Blue’ have got the talent to play aggressively, and need to adapt themselves according to the modern-day format.  

“We saw an incredible partnership between Pandya and Jadeja but beyond that is not a great deal. I was just wondering back of the mind that they are playing timidly and are getting them into a situation,” said Vaughan on Cricbuzz.

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“I just think it’s freedom and culture around the dressing room which allows them to do that (play aggressively). India has the talent in their batsmen and playing with that approach because they’ve got the skill, they’ve got the time, they’ve got the gift. I wonder if in that culture, in the Indian dressing room, or if it’s a little bit old school. I just wonder if it’s a little bit back in the innings when we play consistently. They’ve got enough talent to go out for it a little bit early and a bit harder,” said Michael Vaughan.

India needs to decide its brand of cricket: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan

Former Indian World Cup-winning pacer Zaheer Khan also agreed to Michael Vaughan’s statement on the visiting side’s playing style. He reckoned that the Indian think tank needs to charge up and structure their brand of cricket against an opponent like Australia.

“It’s all about what brand of cricket you want to play? How you are going to structure your innings. All those discussions are important when the skeleton needs to be formed. When you look at this team when someone like Rohit Sharma is out, you tend to feel that the winning formula is not defined for any other individual to fill in that particular role,” said Zaheer Khan.

“A conscious effort has to be made by the think tank and the team management to have a set and defined brand of cricket which the team wants to play,” he added.

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