With Rohit Sharma not fit for the ODI series, KL Rahul was named captain for the three-match ODI series against the Proteas and led India for the first time in 50-over cricket on Wednesday in Paarl.
However, India’s defeat in the series opener has seen questions pointed in his directions and former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has become the latest to criticise his captaincy and called for the ex-Punjab Kings skipper to be more aggressive with his field-setting.
Talking on Star Sports, Gambhir refused to blame the Indian bowlers but pointed out the fault in Rahul’s captaincy saying, “I don’t think so (that Indian bowlers were poor). Sometimes, you have to give credit to the batsmen as well. Temba Bavuma is in great form, he played brilliantly in the Test series and carried the momentum forward in ODIs.”
“But one thing I would’ve wanted to see is attacking fielding placements. I expected a slip, gully, and gully point for Yuzvendra Chahal after Aiden Markram was dismissed. When Ashwin came in to bowl, you could’ve put a leg slip or short-leg in place. You don’t want to necessarily get the batsmen out; the point is that the bowler will only bowl according to the field set for him,” added Gambhir.
Gambhir went on to lavish praise on South African skipper Temba Bavuma and lauded his ability to play the role of anchor in a batting line-up full of power-hitters.
“But I won’t take anything away from Temba Bavuma. This is also his role in the batting lineup. If you look at their batting, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller.. all believe in power game. So you need a batsman to glues the batting lineup and plays as an anchor and Bavuma did that. He played his role brilliantly,” said the 2011 World Cup winner.
