Indian top order batters have not fared well against spin bowling in the ongoing New Zealand T20I series. However, this is not a solitary series that the Indian batters have faced issues in. The new generation openers like Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw like pace on the ball and are elite hitters of the fast bowling.
Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer explained the trend and called Indian batter’s issues against spin bowling a worrying trend. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer said that the batters look to hit out of trouble in modern cricket, which has led to their collapse against spin bowling.
“Nowadays batters usually find their way out of trouble by hitting the bowlers out of the attack. It’s not what it used to be in our time where you were trained or told to play out the spell,” Jaffer explained.
“Even in the seaming conditions, nowadays the batter will probably try to go out of the way and take the bowler out of the attack. The batter will be more aggressive or more proactive,” Jaffer further added.
Even legendary Indian batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have shown issues against leg spin in particular and Jaffer explained the reason behind the same.
“In our time, we were told to play out the spell, but T20 does not allow you to do that. Even the Indian batters do not play spin as good as the past players in my time. This is definitely a concern, but it is just the upbringing. The focus is more on fast bowling and you don’t get to play a lot of spin in the domestic circuit as well,” the former batter concluded.
