Following India’s loss of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia, criticism has mounted against the team management. Virat Kohli’s struggles, particularly his susceptibility to balls outside the off-stump, are widely cited as a significant factor in the team’s underwhelming performance. Despite a century in Perth, Kohli’s overall form remained inconsistent throughout the series. Yograj Singh, father of former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh, has now expressed his disappointment with the team management, including head coach Gautam Gambhir. Yograj believes that someone within the team should have intervened to address Kohli’s repeated failures against deliveries outside the off-stump, given his meager 190 runs in the five-match series.
Yograj Singh has publicly criticized the team management for their perceived inaction in addressing Virat Kohli’s struggles. He believes that a more proactive approach, such as directly addressing Kohli’s technical shortcomings, could have prevented his poor run of form. This criticism highlights the growing pressure on the Indian team management to address the team’s shortcomings and improve their overall performance.
💬💬 We wanted to keep fighting, and we fought till the end#TeamIndia Head Coach Gautam Gambhir reflects on the positives from the #AUSvIND series.@GautamGambhir pic.twitter.com/zo6yYLMsit
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2025
‘Such players need someone to guide them’
“Such players need someone to guide them, to say, ‘Let’s go to the nets and work on this’. For example, Virat Kohli got out many times playing his favourite shot – the right-hand push. That shot works on Indian pitches, in England, and elsewhere. But on certain pitches where the ball bounces and carries more, someone should have told him, ‘Virat, don’t play this shot’. Just play straight or leave this ball.
“This illustrates the difference between coaching and management. Identifying and pointing out a player’s technical fault is coaching. Someone needs to recognise and convey these technical issues to the players. But who will tell Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli? Even they want someone to come and tell them what’s going wrong,” he added.
With the BGT now over, the focus shifts to white-ball cricket where India host England and after that, they feature in the much-awaited Champions trophy.
