The Assistant Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Ryan ten Doeschate, has acknowledged that in an effort to enhance India’s performance abroad, the batting team may have concentrated more on facing fast bowlers, which could have led to a decline in their ability to handle spin bowling.
During the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, the Indian batting team, excluding captain Rohit Sharma, struggled significantly. They faced challenging spin bowling from players like Jeffrey Vandersay, Charith Asalanka, and Dunith Wellalage, which contributed to a 2-0 series loss for the team in blue.
In a conversation with TalkSport Cricket, the ex-Dutch player acknowledged that the Indian batting lineup might not have focused enough on their skills against spin bowling, an area where Indians were traditionally strong.
“I didn’t anticipate and somewhat missed the importance of dealing with spin from Indian bowlers. We struggled in Sri Lanka, and I believe the Indian team is so eager to succeed abroad,” he explained.
India has performed well in Test cricket matches played outside their home country. Over the past four years, they have played 19 Test matches abroad and won 9 of them. One of their most notable victories was in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where they defeated Australia 2-1 in a four-match series.
The Indian assistant coach mentioned, “I believe our focus has shifted to performing well in Australia and England. We have somewhat neglected our ability to play spin, which has always been a strong point for the Indian team.”
Under the guidance of head coach Gautam Gambhir, assistant coach ten Doeschate hopes to help the Indian team regain their status as top players of spin bowling. Rohit Sharma and his team will get an opportunity to demonstrate this when they face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series starting on September 19.
The Indian team will play against Australia again in November of this year. This series, which will be the main event for this type of competition, promises to be exciting, as both teams have top players, making it sure to be a fun match.
