‘Defensive tactics’ astonish Chopra

AFP

‘Defensive tactics’ astonish Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra was against not playing a spinner in the first warm-up tie for England and felt that the spinners would have ‘deflated’ England.

By Sahil Malhotra
England had a party in the match against the Suresh Raina-led India ‘A’, which didn’t have a regular spinner. The ‘pathetic’ tactics (according to former England skipper Michael Vaughan) were not welcomed by many critics.
The much talked-about home advantage is now used to full effect by host nations. When India toured Australia, the traditional batters’ haven of Sydney was garnished with enough grass to keep the Indian batsmen hopping and guessing.
“Why not?” Virat Kohli earlier said on preparing rank turners for the England series. “We were given the flattest of tracks during practice matches in England and Australia and then suddenly presented with a green-top during Tests. During practice matches, we would face those 120 kmph bowlers.”
Chopra too joined the chorus and was baffled by the ‘defensive’ tactics deployed in the drawn match.
“That was very defensive. India A should have gone with spinners as that would have given England food for thought. Instead of allowing England to score easily off our bowlers, the ideal scenario would have been to use the spinners and finish off the match in two, two-and-a-half days,” he stressed.
“When Australia toured India in 1998, they played a practice game against Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar launched an all-out attack in that match and scored a double-century. The match was over in two-and-a-half days.
“Such an aggressive approach would have deflated England ahead of the series,” Chopra told ESPNSTAR.com in an exclusive conversation, referring to the match where Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were the only slow bowlers and bowled more than 40 overs.
Team India could be found wanting against England and Australia in the absence of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, Chopra felt. It will be almost impossible to fill those shoes and the transition period will definitely test the existing lot.
“The pressure will now be on the (current) seniors. The youngsters will take time to bridge the gap. Those shoes (Laxman and Dravid) are impossible to fill but this is what usually happens during the phase of transition,” said Chopra on the period of changeover that the Indian team is experiencing.
After the India-New Zealand series, held in August-September, it was evident that the bulk of Indian batting was at the top-four. The rest were still getting to terms with the longer version of the game. Chopra feels this will happen even against England and the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag and Gambhir should absorb most of the pressure.
“The pressure will be on Sachin, Viru (Sehwag) and Gambhir. The trio shares 30,000 runs amongst them, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” asserted Chopra.
However, the dogged opener is optimistic about India winning the much-anticipated four-match Test series.
“India will win…India should win this one,” he signed off.