(Source X)
Aakash Chopra critiqued India’s bowling performance during their ODI series loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo, marking the first time in 27 years that India lost a bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka.
During the post-match presentation, India captain Rohit Sharma was questioned about whether his team was complacent against the relatively inexperienced Sri Lankan side. While Sharma dismissed this notion, Chopra suggested that the Indian bowling attack appeared complacent and lacked the necessary edge throughout the series.
“We weren’t able to close out the innings with the ball. There seemed a sense of complacency that we would get the wickets anyway and if we don’t get the wickets we will chase the runs anyway. The ruthlessness was missing,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
The Indian team has faced significant criticism following their surprising series loss, which has startled many in the cricket world. Despite being nearly at full strength, the top-ranked ODI team was unable to overcome a Sri Lankan side weakened by injuries. The Sri Lankan team, however, demonstrated impressive determination and resilience to secure a notable 2-0 series victory.
Aakash Chopra had anticipated that Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel would dominate in the spin-friendly conditions, but this expectation was not met. In fact, India did not manage to dismiss Sri Lanka in any of the matches throughout the series.
We play spin really well on flat wickets: Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator observed that Indian batters typically excel against spin on flat pitches, and their bowlers generally outperform their opponents under similar conditions. However, Chopra pointed out that on spinning tracks, the batting struggles and the disparity in bowling quality diminishes.
“I think we outbat the opposition and play spin really well on flat wickets. Our bowlers also bowl better than theirs on such pitches. However, when the pitches begin to turn, our batting becomes ordinary and the gap in the quality of bowling is reduced. So this is a problem they need to address,” the 46-year-old said.
