Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener turned commentator wants a relook at present India batting coach Vikram Rathour’s contributions amid a stark decline in the team’s performances with the willow as evident in the recent South African tour.
Aakash Chopra remarked that as people have taken credit for the improvement in the bowling department, the “buck has to stop somewhere” for the dipped averages of the middle order batting trio of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara in the last couple of years or so.
Aakash Chopra: One Need To Look Whether Vikram Rathour Is Doing His Job As A Batting Coach Well
He said India needs to see if there have been any shortcomings in Vikram Rathour‘s work and how he has addressed them. Ajinkya Rahane has managed just 479 runs in 2021 at a paltry average of 20.83 while Cheteshwar Pujara has scored 702 runs at an average of 28.08. Virat Kohli too ended the year 2021 without scoring a century in international cricket. His last ton came in a Test against Bangladesh in 2019.
In a video on his Youtube channel, Chopra said: “Everyone has taken credit for India’s bowling improvement. Some people gave credit to Virat Kohli, some to Bharat Arun, some to Ravi Shastri. Everyone said, ‘Indian bowling has improved a lot’. But who is responsible for the batting decline? … If you are taking credit then responsibility needs to be taken as well. The decline is palpable. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli’s numbers have dipped in the last 2-2.5 years so where’s the batting coach?”
The former India batter added: “The batting coach has the responsibility and the buck has to stop somewhere. Vikram Rathour, who is with the team for quite some time, you need to look at him again whether he’s doing his job well and if not then what are the shortcomings and how is he addressing them.”
Vikram Rathour was appointed batting coach in late 2019. While the likes of head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, and fielding coach R Sridhar left last year, Vikram Rathour was the only coach to get an extension. However, India’s well-documented overseas success, which began at the same time as his arrival, has been mostly attributed to the fitter and more incisive bowling group.
Their consistency papered over the batting cracks, especially in the middle order. But it all came to a head in the recent series in South Africa, where the bowlers failed to bail out the struggling batting lineup in the last two Tests.
Aakash Chopra: The Coach Is Suddenly Like A Football Manager With An Enhanced Role As Coach’s Role Becomes More Important Than Captain
Speaking on the second major issue presently associated with Indian cricket – Virat Kohli’s sudden stepping down from the Test captaincy, Aakash Chopra said newly-appointed head coach Rahul Dravid’s job has got even tougher. He feels that in this phase, Rahul Dravid’s role in designing India’s future path will be more important than the new captain, almost like a football club manager.
Aakash Chopra explained: “It’s difficult for the coach because he’s a new coach. If he had been there for a long time then he would have a blueprint ready for the new captain. Now there’s a new captain, a new coach and they have to travel a new path… In cricket, the captain is the most important and the coach is just below him. But in such situations, the coach goes up and the captain comes a bit behind him because there’s a guarantee of the coach’s continuity. The coach is suddenly like a football manager with an enhanced role.”
Aakash Chopra also lamented India’s failure to build a leadership group to succeed Virat Kohli who resigned as India’s most successful Test skipper with 40 Test wins in 68 Tests. He said there had been a “slight mismanagement” with regards to the trust shown in Ajinkya Rahane as a captaincy prospect despite his poor form.
Aakash Chopra added: “We’ve failed to create a leadership group, honestly speaking. If Ajju had been in good form it would have been a natural succession. That was certainly a plan but his performances were on a downswing in the last two years and we were not ready to look at anywhere else because we believed that Kohli is going to continue for a long time. That didn’t happen and there’s been a slight mismanagement.”
After opting to bat, South Africa lost their opener, Janneman Malan, early in the fifth over of the first ODI against India at the Boland Park In Paarl against India. Jasprit Bumrah was the wicket-taker and he along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar has bowled well so far.
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal