Overview:
Shubman was not proactive, and Basit was critical in his assessment.
Former Pakistan player Basit Ali slammed Shubman Gill for his captaincy in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand. The visitors won the series 2-1, their first successful assignment in the fifty-over format in the sub-continent nation. The Kiwis posted 337/8 in the Indore ODI and managed to dismiss India on 296 despite Virat Kohli’s hundred.
The 41-run loss has put the Indian team management under the scanner. Gill, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul failed to fire with the bat. Although Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana struck fifties, the target was beyond India’s reach. Shubman was not proactive, and Basit was critical in his assessment.
“India were without Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. They are not selecting Shami. India’s strength is all about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Rahul scored in two matches but failed in the third,” Basit said.
India won the series opener by 4 wickets to take a 1-0 lead, but lost the next two matches. In the 3rd ODI, Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell scored hundreds to take the game away from the hosts.
“New Zealand had set their goal. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were India’s main bowlers apart from pacers. You had specialist bowlers, but Nitish Kumar Reddy was given the ball before them. Shubman Gill was copying Shan Masood. He was following the message from the dressing room. You need early breakthroughs. Go to school to learn captaincy,” he added.