After India’s horrendous loss to New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Virat Kohli & Co. are currently on a three-week break. They would now assemble in London on July 14. The team would then travel to Nottingham, where Team India is scheduled to start their five-match Test series against England from August 4.
Talking about the same, former Indian cricketer, Dilip Vengsarkar stated that a one-week interval for travelling in United Kingdom (UK) was enough.
“I don’t know how we approach this kind of an itinerary. Where you go for a holiday in between and then come back to play Test matches. One week break was enough to post the WTC final. The thing is you need to play continuously. I am amazed this itinerary was approved,” Vengsarkar told PTI in an interview.
Kohli had opined that his team’s batters needed to show more intent during the summit clash. Taking cognizance of the same, Vengsarkar criticized the squad for not playing proper practice games for the commencement of the marquee event.
“If he [Kohli] is talking about intent, then why didn’t the team prepare properly for this match? Where was the intent then? They should have played at least two four-day games. You want to know whether the players are match fit or not by playing those games. The fast bowlers will know what lengths to hit straightway only in those practice games,” he added.
Many fans also reasoned that Kohli’s announcement of the playing XI a day before the match resulted in the opponents being well prepared for the encounter.
Concluding the parley, Vengsarkar asserted that it was the best team picked by the Indian captain and declaring it before didn’t make much difference since the side already had an idea about the playing conditions.
“You see, we had beaten Australia with a similar combination more or less. It was the best team they picked under the circumstances. Whether you announce it on the day of the game or day before it doesn’t make much difference. You have an idea about the conditions anyway,” the 65-year-old adumbrated.
