2 weeks Ago By Megha Mallick
Former India cricketer Zaheer Khan has said that while the Indian team management is looking to be flexible with the batting order beyond the openers, it might also create insecurity within players in the absence of proper communication. Zaheer, a former teammate of India head coach Gautam Gambhir, warned that this approach might bite the Indian team back at some point. In the first T20I against England, skipper Suryakumar Yadav batted at No.
3. In the second match, it was Tilak Varma who took that spot. In the third match, Suryakumar was back to the position again, a 'flexibility' which didn't impress Zaheer.
The former India cricketer said that it is all right to be flexible but it has to be within the rules, otherwise, it can create 'insecurity' among the set players of the side. "You've said that you've got to have the flexibility. Numbers one and two will be there but the others are going to be flexible.
Within that flexibility, some rules also apply. There are certain protocols you have to follow. Certain communication needs to happen, which is gonna streamline things," Zaheer said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
"Otherwise, you are creating insecurity, which, at some stage, will come back and hurt you. You don't want it to be the case. So you've got to be prepared to deal with that situation," Zaheer said.
"That's why I said recency bias is something very strong right now. The situation has become dynamic if you have to compare Rahul Dravid's approach and Gautam Gambhir's approach. You can say it's good, bad or ugly, or you can say how do we adapt," Zaheer added.
A rising point in this case is KL Rahul, who hasn't batted at No. 5 in the two ODIs. If ends justify the means, then Gambhir stood vindicated after Axar Patel scored 52 and 41 not out in the first two matches at No.
5 even though he came in at a time when India were well on course for a win against England. If Rahul is being seen as someone, who will come to bat after the 30th or the 35th over in ODIs, there is every chance that Rishabh Pant might make more impact than him. Notably, the latter hasn't played a single ODI.
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