India may have dismissed centurions Harry Brook and Joe Root to regain a foothold in the fifth Test, but with England still within striking distance of a series win, questions are being raised by fans and former cricketers alike.
Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin did not hold back in his assessment of India’s on-field tactics during the 195-run partnership between Brook and Root for the fourth wicket.
With Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton currently at the crease and England chasing a 3-1 series win, Ashwin believes India missed a trick.
‘Coming back to the topic of spinners not being used, I have felt in this series that there has been a lack of game awareness and in many ways, our tactical acumen both on and off the field. This is the main reason why England are ahead in this series and India are behind. We haven’t been the sharpest,’ Ashwin said on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.
‘When Harry Brook started taking it on, after 20 runs, you could have brought on the spinner to choke the run flows. From the other end, a pacer could have bowled. With all this in mind, Washington Sundar could have been brought earlier into the attack,’ Ashwin explained.
India’s approach to spin was indeed puzzling. Of the 76.2 overs bowled so far in the fourth innings, only eight have come from Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja combined. In the first innings, Sundar wasn’t handed the ball at all, while Jadeja bowled just two overs.
Ashwin suggested that the decision-making might be reflective of inexperience in leadership, and a missed opportunity to exert pressure when England were beginning to pull away.
‘I feel Shubman Gill will get really better as the captain. He will learn. But sometimes if you feel that you can play spin really well, you will not bring spinners into the attack, and when you miss the moment to bring the spinners in these conditions, then the spinner becomes a really defensive option,’ he noted.
Ashwin added that while it’s unclear if instructions from the dressing room are reaching the field, the tactical lapse was glaring.
‘Making these mistakes is a huge gap. We don’t know whether the message is going from outside to the middle. We don’t know the dressing room talks. But in today’s day and age, these mistakes can definitely be avoided,” he said.
Fans also took to X, calling for Head Coach Gambhir’s sacking.
‘As long as Gautam Gambhir and his management continues to treat the Test team as an extended T20 team, this team will never be able to taste success. He will ruin everything in this transition phase if not handled well at the right time, one Jaanvi tweeted.
‘When we look back at these times for Indian cricket, I wonder if we’ll call it the Gautam Gambhir era or the 2G scam.’ cricket enthusiast Ramesh Srivats wrote in zest.
‘Gambhir selects his team like he’s about to get an impact sub at the end of each innings,’ Random Cricket Stats tweeted.