Anil Kumble slams India’s ‘Abject Surrender’, questions team selection after England humiliation

India’s heavy defeat in the third T20I against England has triggered strong criticism from former captain and legendary spinner Anil Kumble. After watching the visitors suffer their biggest-ever defeat by runs in men’s T20I cricket, Kumble questioned both the batting approach and some of the tactical decisions made during the match.

Anil Kumble calls India’s batting collapse an ‘abject surrender’

England completely dominated the third T20I, winning by 125 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series after the opening game was washed out.

Phil Salt led England’s batting with a fluent 70 off 44 balls as the hosts posted 201/7. In reply, India were bowled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs after England’s fast bowlers ripped through the batting order.

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Reacting to the collapse, Kumble felt a team of India’s stature should have shown much greater fight.

“It was an abject surrender by the Indian team. You don’t expect a world champion side to cave in like that. England’s bowlers were right on the money. Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue stuck to a clear plan. They bowled short, they bowled quick, and they kept the pressure on. Both were clocking over 145 kmph, making life difficult for the Indian batters, who couldn’t free their arms or find any rhythm,” Kumble said on JioStar.

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‘Batters needed more patience’: Kumble

Kumble believes India’s batters made the mistake of trying to attack every ball instead of absorbing the pressure created by England’s pace attack.

He said one batter should have taken responsibility and stayed at the crease despite the required run rate climbing.

“The Indian batters needed to show more patience and application, but everyone just tried to attack instead of absorbing the pressure. Yes, the required rate was over 10, but someone had to take responsibility and bat deep. Instead, they went the aggressive route and paid the price with a batting collapse. It was a disappointing surrender by the Indian batting line up,” he added.

Kumble questions frequent changes in India’s bowling attack

The former India coach also pointed to the constant chopping and changing in the bowling unit, saying the team management needs to show more faith in its bowlers.

According to Kumble, captain Shreyas Iyer should back a settled bowling attack instead of making regular changes.

“The Indian team has made too many changes to their lineup and that needs to stop. The batting has stayed mostly the same. Yes, Sanju has been dropped and Vaibhav has come in, but other than that, it’s almost the same. But the bowlers keep changing. Prasidh Krishna was dropped after one bad game against Ireland. Prince Yadav came in, bowled well, and picked three wickets in the second T20I, but India still lost that game. As a new captain, you need to stick with your five bowlers. Batters will score runs, but bowlers win you matches,” he said.

Harshit Rana’s promotion also comes under scrutiny

Kumble also questioned India’s decision to send Harshit Rana ahead of Shivam Dube during the chase. He felt the move backfired and said teams should always trust their specialist batters in pressure situations.

The former spinner also admitted India had failed to adjust to conditions throughout the tour.

“India was complacent in Ireland, thinking they would just turn up and win. They didn’t adapt to the conditions. They forced themselves, thinking they would play their way come what may. Once you lose those games and then you face a team like England on their home soil, it becomes tough because this English side is good and experienced. You need to adapt and change along the way.”

“Also, the decision of sending out Harshit Rana to bat ahead of a more complete batter like Shivam Dube was wrong. In T20 cricket, you put your best batters upfront. You can’t expect a number eight guy to win you a game by sending him to bat ahead of a proven guy. That’s not how things work in modern day cricket.”