Former India coach John Wright urges Rohit Sharma & Co to put recent embarrassing home series loss to NZ behind and build confidence level to take on Australia later this month
India players celebrate a wicket during the 3rd Test against NZ recently. Pic/AFP
In the wake of the 0-3 humiliation suffered at the hands of New Zealand at home, former India head coach John Wright has advised Rohit Sharma & Co to build confidence and think positive before heading for the marquee five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series Down Under, starting on November 22 at Perth.
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“They must not think much about the loss to New Zealand. They should try to build confidence first. The discussion in the dressing room should be that they won in Australia on the last two tours so why not for a third time?” Wright said in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“No negative thoughts at all in the dressing room… losses happen and they must plan for a recovery. If the Kiwis can beat India, then India can also beat Australia like we did in 2000-2001 in India,” the former New Zealand skipper added. Wright was coach when Sourav Ganguly & Co beat Steve Waugh’s Australians 2-1.
John Wright
Wright, 70, who coached India from 2000 to 2005, also offered some guidelines for their trip to Australia with respect to the pitches and conditions on offer. “Getting acclimatised Down Under should be on the priority list. Yes, there will be bounce, but will they keep grass for lateral movement? I doubt. India will have [Jasprit] Bumrah, who is in top form,” Wright remarked.
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“India’s problem will be their batters, who are not in the best of form. They have to spend time in the middle. A lot of problems will be solved if they concentrate for long periods and spend time at the crease,” the former left-handed opener, who scored 5,334 runs in 82 Tests at 37.82, added.
‘An unbelievable scoreline’
Meanwhile, Wright hailed the Kiwis for their recent historic achievement in India. “I am very happy that New Zealand finally won a series in India, pleasantly surprised as well. 3-0 is an unbelievable scoreline,” Wright said.
“I think the dream of winning the series started blooming when they bundled India out for 46 in Bangalore,” he added.
Wright, who played for New Zealand from 1978 to 1993, credited current skipper Tom Latham for the way he led the team. “Tom led the team judiciously and planned according to his resources. Don’t forget that Kane Williamson did not take part, which is also a major factor, yet our team did not crumble,” Wright said.
A lot of New Zealand’s work was done by their left-arm spinners — Ajaz Patel, who picked up 15 wickets across the three Tests, and Mitchell Santner, who claimed 13 wickets in the second Test at Pune.
All praise for spin twins
Wright was all praise for the spin twins as well as the batters. “Santner gave them the shock and Ajaz increased the intensity in Mumbai, and mind you, they don’t get much opportunity at home since we don’t get to play on turning wickets. Yet, they have performed at their best,” Wright remarked.
“The Kiwi batters spent a lot of time in the nets for the sweep and reverse sweep. They mastered it in the nets in Sri Lanka before coming here,” he continued.
However, Wright was not too critical of the Indian batting order for their failures throughout the series. “Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Sarfaraz [Khan] are good players of spin, yet they failed. That’s why I say it is an accident,” Wright signed off.
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