Team India all-rounder Krunal Pandya might need earned reward from the cricketing fraternity for his scintillating ODI debut, however his poor bowling efficiency within the second ODI in opposition to England has pressured cricket legend VVS Laxman to criticize him and query the bowling talents of the elder brother of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Notably, Krunal, who smashed unbeaten 58 off 31 balls within the first ODI in opposition to England, leaked 72 runs in simply 6 overs within the second ODI which India misplaced by 6 wickets.
Given Krunal’s flop present with the ball, Laxman mentioned that the Baroda cricketer shouldn’t be an everyday 10-over bowler, particularly on a flat pitch.
“Could India have done anything different? I understand workload management is crucial, but if India can’t get even 3-4 overs out of Hardik, then they have to relook at their combination because I am not convinced Krunal Pandya is a regular 10-over bowler, especially on a flat pitch. Virat perhaps would have been better off mixing things up and getting in a pacer, even if it meant going against his plans. The spinners were unidimensional in their angles, lines and lengths,” Laxman wrote in his column for The Times of India.
Laxman shocked with Hardik Pandya not bowling
Earlier in a TV present, Laxman had mentioned that he was ‘surprised’ to not see Hardik Pandya bowl within the 2nd ODI in opposition to England in Pune and added that India captain Virat Kohli ‘missed a trick’.
India bowlers have been taken to cleaners by the England batsman on Friday. Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy have been of their components as they made a mockery of the 337-run chase.
Bairstow slammed 124 and Stokes scored blistering 99 as England chased down the difficult goal in simply 44.3 overs with six wickets nonetheless within the financial institution within the second ODI.
Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya and Shardul Thakur continued to leak runs however India nonetheless didn’t decide to make use of their sixth bowling motion in Hardik Pandya and talking on the identical, Laxman mentioned, “I used to be little shocked why Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl. Because you recognize Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya have been below strain from each the batsmen from each ends. You wished to interrupt that monotony. That’s why I used to be shocked he was not even given 4-5overs. I do know you will need to handle his workload, however successful this match is as necessary as managing his workload.”
“It positively does (not having the sixth bowler for India made a distinction). Because it’s important to break the sample. You can’t at all times return to Shardul, or Prasidh, or Bhuvneshwar. And everytime you have been going again to Kuldeep or Krunal, the England batsmen have been going hammer and tongs.
“So, that’s where you need a 6th bowler. And he (Hardik) bowled so well in the 6th over. He was not only restricting runs, he was picking wickets. He gave away 16 runs and picked two wickets. I was a little surprised Virat did not mix around his bowlers. And he kept giving the ball to Kuldeep, who looked low on confidence. It is something India should think about for Sunday,” the previous India cricketer added.
