Former India coach opens up on 'blunder' Kohli, Shastri committed before World Cup 2019

Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has highlighted a major area where Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli-led support staff made a mistake during their tenure. Sridhar, in his book 'Coaching Beyond', admitted that they made a big blunder before the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England. Sridhar further added that he feels Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will not repeat the same mistake when they get ready for this year's 50-over World Cup in India. 

Sridhar talks about the mistake Team India committed

According to Sridhar, Team India under the leadership of Kohli and Shastri committed a mistake by not finalizing their No. 4 batsman in the playing XI. They tried out a lot of players before the tournament began including the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, and Dinesh Karthik. However, the players who received the opportunity to play at the No. 4 spot did not get an extended run by the team management, leading to confusion ahead of the World Cup.

Ambati Rayudu played at the No. 4 position in all major tournaments for India including the Asia Cup but he was dropped from the squad when the World Cup team was announced. Vijay Shankar and Rishabh Pant eventually received the nod to play the No. 4 position in the World Cup. Sridhar said that Shastri and Kohli-led support staff got a lot of things right but made a mistake when it came to selecting a player for the No. 4 position. He further revealed that perhaps the team got carried away by the fact that they had a gun top-three in Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli. 

"Nothing was spoken about the No. 4 position; it was all but taken for granted. That is just a very poor look, with the benefit of hindsight. We missed a major trick and that did us in the end as far as the tournament was concerned. Except Ambati Rayudu, no one played more than seven games in that slot. At home against Sri Lanka in December 2018, MS and Dinesh Karthik batted at two-down; when we went to South Africa in early January, Ajinkya Rahane batted there for the entire series. In England that summer, it was KL Rahul. I can see where we messed up," Sridhar wrote in his book 'Coaching Beyond'

"I agree that was out of character for a support group which got a lot of other things right. I mean, we are talking about Ravi, Sanjay, Arun, Virat and myself it was a shocker from us. We were unsuccessful in giving anyone the confidence to grow into that position, and it was no surprise that when it mattered the most, we were found wanting. Perhaps we got carried away by the fact that we had a gun top-three-Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli — and two exceptional finishers in MS and Hardik, and therefore overlooked the significance of No. 4. When push came to shove, we couldn't respond. I know it's not my place to say so, but there is a lesson in it for think tanks going forward. I can say with reasonable confidence that I don't see Rohit and Rahul Dravid making the same mistake," he added. 

India were knocked out of the 2019 Cricket World Cup after losing to New Zealand in the semifinals. India lost the match by just 18 runs and missed out on a chance to play the final at Lord's. India are slated to host the 50-over World Cup later this year where they will have an opportunity to win their third title. 

Image: BCCI