Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt weighed in his thoughts on India’s below-par performance in the first ODI against South Africa. He opined that India lacked the energy in the field under Rahul’s leadership as he suggested a couple of changes for India in their XI.

In the first ODI at Paarl, the hosts South Africa put on a total of 296/4 in 50 overs. In response, the visitors fell short by 31 runs despite the fifties by Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. India collapsed from 138/1 to 265/8. Indian middle-order with the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and debutant Venkatesh Iyer failed to capitalize the start given by Dhawan and Kohli.

Controversial Pakistan batsman Salman Butt (File Photo | AFP)

“A settled leader like Kohli or Rohit would have taken a different approach”- Salman Butt

Reviewing the match on his Youtube channel, Salman Butt opined that the captaincy shift is the biggest reason behind India’s lackluster performance on Wednesday. He also suggested a couple of changes in the XI to turn things around.

“It’s like a doctor giving medicine to a fully fit person. This is one of those unfortunate reasons where everything seems upset. According to me, the immediate remedy is Rahul keeping the wickets and bat at his usual ODI position. India need to add an extra batter at the top and include a genuine pace bowler in place of Bhuvneshwar.

“The batting order will be a bit longer and India will get a free-flowing player who can put some pressure on the opposition. Also, the middle-order will get loads of experience in presence of Rahul,” said Salman Butt on his YouTube channel.

Butt also pointed out that the Indian team lacked energy on the field as they were going through the motion.

“The biggest problem for the selection committee was selecting the captain, not picking the team. They thought that everything will remain the same despite the change in leadership. Why fix something that’s not broken? It was an untimely move and it’s going to have repercussions. The team doesn’t look in its comfort zone. We’ve been watching the Indian team for a year and it didn’t look its energetic self against South Africa,” he added.

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma---Image: Twitter — KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma—Image: Twitter

Salman Butt also pointed out that Rishabh Pant should improve on his fitness standards. Pant was stumped as he lost his balance against a down-the-leg side delivery.

“The Indian middle-order lacks depth. Also, Pant needs to shape up physically. He’s talented with every shot in his book but he needs to work on his fitness. That’s not much to ask from a person who is playing at the international level. His game will elevate to a different level if he works on this aspect,” he said.

Also read I Am Solely Focused On My Duties As Head Coach Of The Proteas – Mark Boucher Responds To Racism Allegations

Butt was also surprised why Venkatesh Iyer wasn’t given a single over despite a huge partnership between Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen. As he felt that an experienced leader like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma would have made the difference.

“Yes, Venkatesh should have bowled. When there’s a partnership on the board, a team should try out different things. India is going by a similar trend in South Africa. They persisted with Pujara & Rahane in the Test series and we are seeing a similar approach in the ODIs too.

“They haven’t thought out of the box yet. The team doesn’t want to tinker with anything when it has some unsettled issues. When you have a settled leader like Kohli or Rohit, they would have taken a different approach,” Butt concluded.

सभी Cricket Match Prediction और Fantasy Tips प्राप्त करें – CLICK HERE