It’s more all-rounders’ failure that let India down in series: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Sivaramakrishnan also opined that youngster Prithvi Shaw was inducted in the senior team too early and should have been tried in home conditions first.

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Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
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Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

The general belief is that India lost their five-Test series against England because of a massive batting failure. Except for captain Virat Kohli, no other batsman could put up a consistent show with the willow in the series, letting their team down at crucial junctures. However, former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has a different take on India’s failure and it is about their all-rounders.

The 52-year-old who does commentary now said India badly missed the services of the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha – both of whom were ruled out of the series with injuries. He said the visitors could have made use of Kumar, who is known for his decent batting hand beside being a potent bowler, in place of Hardik Pandya had he been available.

Bhuvneshwar could have taken more wickets than Pandya

Speaking to Times of India, Sivaramakrishnan said: “Bhuvneshwar could have taken more wickets than Pandya and score some runs. Similarly, Saha would not have given so many byes and would have certainly scored more in the series. Their presence wouldn’t have hurt India so much.”

While 28-year-old Kumar has played 21 Tests, scoring 552 runs and taking 63 wickets, Pandya, 24, has scored 532 runs and taken 17 wickets in 11 Tests. However, Kumar has much better figures than Pandya in bowling and he has also been known to be a fighter with the bat down the order. Pandya took 10 wickets in this series with one five-wicket haul.

In the wicket-keeping department, Dinesh Karthik kept for the first two matches but was completely out of form and also sustained an injury. He was then replaced by youngster Rishabh Pant who though had a decent debut at Trent Bridge but could not make a mark in Southampton, even scoring a 29-ball duck in the first innings.

Sivaramakrishnan, who played nine Tests and 16 ODIs for India in the 1980s, did not agree to criticise the Indian side harshly. He said India could have won the first and fourth Tests that they lost by 31 and 60 runs, respectively, and that would have made things entirely different now. He said it was not right to be dismissive about India since they did not have the full strength.

Sivaramakrishnan also opined that youngster Prithvi Shaw was inducted in the senior team too early and should have been tried in home conditions first.

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