Reckless or instinctive?

When players like Rishabh Pant get criticised for a bad shot, they often switch to a defensive mode, which is exactly what happened in the first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground

The recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series was dominated by the bowlers from both sides, but the Aussie batters, who had a better understanding of the conditions, managed to outscore the Indians. 

The Indian batsmen, apart from a few, were struggling to get their basics right and lacked the mental resilience to handle the pressure and counterattack effectively.

Need mental discipline

Technical shortcomings can often be overcome with mental discipline, and in that regard, India really missed Cheteshwar Pujara. None of the top five showed the mental discipline needed to stay firm. Thankfully, Rishabh Pant wasn’t dropped after his loose shot in the Melbourne Test. That’s his style — instinctive cricket with an attacking mindset, which sometimes seems reckless. When such players get criticised for a bad shot, they often switch to a defensive mode, which is exactly what happened in the first innings when Pant got out through wrong shot selection.

Also Read: ‘Tactically, we were found wanting’

I feel when a stroke-maker gets too defensive and tries to play shots after settling in, it often leads to poor shot selection. Instead, they should stick to a defensive approach for that session and unleash their attacking shots after the break.

I also believe that technically sound players like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Pujara, and Rahul Dravid, when going through a rough patch, would spend more time at the crease to build their innings, and regain confidence with patience. But players like Pant, with natural hand-eye coordination, need more matches to regain form and confidence by playing natural strokes without allowing any doubt to creep into their minds — like a golfer.

The Indian batsmen, who have played on turning pitches in India and bouncy, seaming tracks in Australia, should have focused more on playing the Ranji Trophy on varied pitches across the country. The unpredictability of such pitches, along with different bowlers’ skills, helps push the batsman out of their comfort zone, forcing them to adapt mentally to different conditions to score runs and meet expectations. Just like muscles, if you don’t use your brain to adjust, you lose the ability to adapt.

Complacent approach

Bowlers have learned to adapt to different pitches, especially with the shorter versions of the game played on flat pitches for commercial exploitation, but batsmen, on the other hand, have become complacent with their footwork and carried this lethargy into the longer format. Adapting to conditions is crucial, and it’s not just about getting into the team or securing a position — it’s about having the mental strength to succeed when reality hits.

The author was part of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup-winning team

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!