‘Not exactly what was required’: Sunil Gavaskar questions India’s bowling options after West Indies defeat

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar questioned India’s bowling decisions during their six-wicket defeat to West Indies in the second T20I in Ranchi.He believes India could have used fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh or Mayank Yadav for the 18th over in place of Axar Patel as the visitors chased down the target of 250 to level the five-match series at 1-1.India posted 249/5 but West Indies reached 252/4 in 19.2 overs to complete the most successful T20I chase against India.

Gavaskar questions bowling options

Gavaskar felt that Mayank, who took three wickets and gave India early breakthroughs, could have been a better choice for the 18th over, even though Arshdeep conceded a lot of runs in his last over.“Definitely! I’d go with either Arshdeep or Mayank. Yes, Arshdeep went for a lot in his last match but Mayank struck the first blows. Out of the wickets that fell, he took three. His economy rate was about 12 and more than that at that stage West Indies needed more. So if he ever took a wicket, he would get who knows you’re a wicket, a wicket, even if it wasn’t a great delivery,” he said Gavaskar for JioStar.He added that another wicket could have put pressure on the West Indies by forcing a fresh batter into the crease.

Kuldeep could have been a better choice

Gavaskar also questioned India’s decision to bring Shivam Dube into the attack in the ninth over. He felt that left-armer Kuldeep Yadav could have been a better option when the West Indies batsmen were still settling in.“And once you get a wicket, suddenly the opposition is on the back foot. A new batting has to come in. So maybe it was a try. I think giving Shivam Dube the ball in that ninth over was not exactly what was required at that stage. When the batsmen were still trying to get their eye, it might have been a better idea to come in with Kuldeep,” he added.India struggled to contain Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford after their early breakthroughs. Hope remained unbeaten on 102 off 45 balls while Rutherford smashed 84 off 37 deliveries.Their 120-run partnership turned the chase in favor of the visitors and left India with questions to answer ahead of the third T20I in Indore.