BCCI to review India T20 slump after England defeats
The cricket board plans talks with team leaders after India followed a title win with five straight T20 losses.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
India’s cricket authorities will examine the national T20 side’s sharp drop in form after the world champions lost a series in England and extended their losing run to five matches. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told AFP the board plans to meet team leaders after the England tour finishes on July 19.
The review follows India’s nine-wicket defeat to England in the fourth T20 on Thursday. AFP reported that the result gave England a 3-0 lead in the series with one match left, after the opening game was abandoned because of rain.
India’s current slide began with a 2-0 series defeat in Ireland last month, AFP reported. The team then struggled in England, including a 125-run loss in Nottingham after being bowled out for 76, described by AFP as India’s heaviest T20 defeat by runs.
Saikia, speaking by phone to AFP from Edinburgh during the International Cricket Council’s annual conference, said the board was watching the team’s performances closely. “The BCCI is currently observing the performance of the Indian T20 team which has not been up to the mark in the ongoing series against England,” he said.
He said the board would hold a review with key team figures to assess the England results. “We will have a review meeting with the core members of the team to discuss what went wrong in England,” Saikia told AFP.
The downturn has come only months after India won the T20 World Cup in March. Saikia cast the run as a short-term problem rather than a structural crisis, telling AFP: “This is not something abnormal and can happen in international cricket. We consider it as a purely bad phase.”
India’s batting faltered again in Bristol on Thursday, where AFP reported the side made 158-7. England reached the target for the loss of one wicket with more than six overs remaining.
The team, coached by Gautam Gambhir, has also been missing two senior players. AFP reported that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya have been absent because of workload and injury-management concerns.
One of India’s newest selections has also found the step up difficult. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made his India debut at 15, has scored 14, 13 and 15 in his three innings in the series, according to AFP.
India and England are due to play the fifth and final T20 in Southampton on Saturday. AFP reported that the teams will then contest a three-match one-day international series.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.