“They thought it was a picnic.” Former cricketer cries for Team India after Ireland shock Cricket News:
Former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh launched a scathing criticism of: Team India:‘s approach after their 34-run loss to Ireland in the opening T20I on Friday, accusing the visitors of taking the hosts too easy and paying the price for their complacency.India’s batting collapsed while chasing 183, with the side led by Shreyas Iyer breaking 148 before completing their allotted 20 overs. The result also marked Ireland’s first win over India in all international formats.Ramesh felt that the defeat was rooted in overconfidence, suggesting that India shifted their focus to the upcoming series in England instead of respecting their opponents in Ireland. He credited Ireland for executing their plans smartly, especially by using bigger boundaries and peppering the Indian batters with short bowling.“Ireland should be praised for using bigger boundaries and testing the Indian batters with short deliveries. It is clear that India are playing the game casually. They think that the Ireland series is a picnic tour, they will win easily, and they are only serious about the England series. But Ireland has taught India a lesson by saying that this is not a picnic place,” said Ramesh on his YouTube channel.India struggled throughout the chase, with only Abhishek Sharma make a meaningful contribution. The left-handed opener blasted 49 off just 20 deliveries, while the rest of the batting lineup, including the captain. Shreyas Iyerfailed to make an impact. Iyer’s stay at the crease lasted just seven balls.Continuing his criticism, Ramesh described the Ireland series as an unexpected addition to India’s schedule but insisted that he could never justify the performance.“The Ireland series was not even originally scheduled. It was like a pickle in the main course, which is England. But India shamefully could not handle the spice of the pickle, which is Ireland. No matter what excuses can be made for it, it was a shocking and terrible defeat for Team India. Overconfidence is never healthy, and that’s how India’s story ended last night. India should be confident but not overconfident,” he added.Ramesh also called the defeat unacceptable as India entered the series as the reigning T20 World Cup champions. He questioned how a team that had spent months playing top-level T20 cricket, including the World Cup and the IPL, could fail so badly against Ireland.“Yes, even an elephant sometimes goes missing. But how can it happen against Ireland? It is shocking, especially for a team whose last T20 match was the last of a World Cup. After a month of T20 cricket in the World Cup, all the Indian players played another 3 months in the IPL. To play 4 months of continuous T20 cricket and then lose to Ireland is inexplicable.The former batsman also pointed to India’s sloppy fielding as another major reason behind the defeat, stressing that repeated dropped catches allowed Ireland to post a challenging total of over 180. He further argued that the Impact Player rule in the IPL has enabled some players to hide deficiencies on the field, something that cannot be done in international cricket.“India have played poor cricket. They have been dropping catches from T20 World Cup to IPL till yesterday. They always seem to drop long catches. In IPL, you can just bat or bowl and keep your fielding because of the Impact Player option. But in international cricket, you have to be a good fielder to be in the 11.
Post Comment