Discarded Indian batter Hanuma Vihari has reckoned that the Indian ODI team is moving backwards as the bowlers failed to defend 351 runs in the third and final ODI against the West Indies in New Chandigarh.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vihari expressed his disappointment over Indian bowlers’ poor performance in the third ODI despite the team finishing the three-game series 2-1 in their favour.
“We could not defend 350. Is this not a wake-up call? I think the team is going backwards. This is a big blow. This has happened on very rare occasions when the Indian team fails to defend 350. This bowling attack certainly has to be investigated. They conceded 405 also in the previous match,” Vihari said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Vihari asserted that the Indian team, captained by Shubman Gill, definitely missed veteran bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, adding that the team requires a better fifth bowling option.
“Gurnoor was okay. There are some fitness concerns with him. Nitish was also okay. Siraj was decent, I would not say it was world class from him. Kuldeep also looked a bit off color. Naman bowled decently but with such a fifth bowling quota, while defending 350, you need a better option. That is where the bowling has been exposed. This is where they are really missing Hardik and Bumrah,” he added.
Further, Vihari stated that it’s not a great stage to be in just one year before the ODI World Cup 2027 to try backup bowlers. He went on to add that Prasidh Krishna has secured his spot for the mega event.
“The backup bowlers were also off color. Kamboj bowled at a better pace which was good to see. But there is still a long way to go. I think Prasidh will be a regular from here. They will still try Gurnoor, Kamboj. Siraj is returning to the side. They have tried Auqib and Nitish as well. They are trying to find a solution. It is not a great stage to be in just one year before the World Cup,” he concluded.
