Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the effectiveness of the Indian team’s batting coach. He believes it’s time for a closer look at the coaching role, given the team’s recent batting struggles.
“I guess the time has come to scrutinise the role of a batting coach in the Indian team. Why major technical issues have remained unresolved for so long with certain Indian batters.” Manjrekar posted on X.
India’s batting performance in the third Test against Australia at the Gabba prompted Manjrekar’s comments. The team struggled against the Australian bowlers, finding themselves in a difficult position.
India’s cricket team is struggling to score runs on their current Australia tour. In three of their last four innings in Australia, they have failed to reach 200 runs.
On day three of the rain-affected match, India finished at 51 for four. The Australian pace attack proved challenging for the Indian batters in the testing conditions.
KL Rahul was a notable exception, showing resilience with an unbeaten 33. He demonstrated a willingness to persevere at the crease. However, the rest of the Indian top order struggled to cope with the bowling.
The Indian top-order batters failed to meet the demands of the situation. Virat Kohli, in particular, was once again dismissed by deliveries just outside off-stump, a recurring issue.
The challenging conditions undoubtedly played a role. However, the Indian batters could have learned from Steve Smith‘s approach. Smith navigated difficult spells from Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah before reaching his century.
Day three saw intermittent play due to rain. Australia was eventually bowled out for 445 in their first innings, adding 40 runs to their overnight score.