India vs England 2021: “Virat Kohli’s strategy is a little hard to understand,” says Sanjay Manjrekar

India vs England 2021: “Virat Kohli’s strategy is a little hard to understand,” says Sanjay Manjrekar
Virat Kohli

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Virat Kohli‘s tactics and team selection after India‘s loss in the first Test against England in Chennai. India never got going in the Test as the England batters made merry on a flat pitch in the first two days. Even with the bat, the top order couldn’t deliver on the expectations they had built from the famous series win in Australia.

Subsequently, the questions once again turned to India’s team selection as they went for Shahbaz Nadeem over Kuldeep Yadav. Although the former did manage to pick up 4 wickets, he erred in line and length and bowled too many no-balls. Further, the amount of boundaries that he conceded helped England ease pressure on themselves that had been built by tight bowling at the other end.

Sanjay Manjrekar speaks on Virat Kohli’s captaincy

Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar spoke on ESPNcricinfo about India’s selection decisions and said, “I wouldn’t say India had bad tactics or they blundered on tactics. Team selection I think was fair. People are talking about Kuldeep Yadav now because Shahbaz Nadeem hasn’t bowled well. This was a tailor-made pitch for him.”

Speaking about spinners Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem, “Tactically, the small parts of the game where Washington Sundar I think bowled the wrong line to begin with. He is a great guy to bowl outside off stump and when he did that, it troubled the opposition batsmen. That’s where Virat Kohli is a little hard to understand, with his overall strategy and team selection,” he added.

“His first few overs (Nadeem), he had two people on the drive. Maybe the bowlers weren’t allowed to begin with to bowl to the field that he wanted. But more than tactics, India’s ability in this match fell short and they would want to make amends in the second Test. Tactically, England were superior but I won’t say that India blundered tactically,” Manjrekar signed off.

The second Test between India and England begins on February 13 in Chennai.

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