India’s new assistant coach, Ryan Ten Doeschate, has pointed out why the current Indian team has been struggling against the spinners despite having players who are quite strong against the spin department. The veteran joined the Blue Brigade during the ODI series in Sri Lanka, where the tourists were handed over a 2-0 series defeat.
In the very first 50-over game of the series, even after having a platform where they were 80/1 in the 15th over, the Rohit Sharma-led side failed to chase down 230 in Colombo, ending with a rare drawn result in the opening fixture. They lost nine wickets in the fixture against the spinners.
The same story continued in the second and third games. At the R. Premadasa Stadium, the Blue Brigade at one point was one wicket down for 116 runs in the chase of 241 during the second fixture and was bundled out for 32 runs short of Sri Lanka’s score. Except for the run-out, they lost all nine wickets against the spinners.
“Focus has moved to doing well in Australia and England”- India’s assistant coach
There was a point of time in the past when India used to have prolific batters like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and others who could smash the spinner in the best possible way. The biggest quality for them was having the right balance between attack and defense during the games.
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However, the current batters have been struggling of late against the spinners, which has been a concern for the team management, given their wish to make spin web during red-ball games at home.
Ryan Ten Doeschate, the current assistant coach for India, was involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a player and then as a coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), sharing a strong bond with head coach Gautam Gambhir, focuses on helping the batters to play the spinners.
“The Indian mindset has become so driven to do well overseas that the focus has moved away from what was once their strength, (which is) playing spin.” The Dutch player expressed this in a recent interview with TalkSport Cricket. “I guess one of the challenges that I wasn’t expecting and kind of overlooked is the playing of spin.”
Most of the targets in the recent Sri Lanka trip during the 50-over games were around 230 to 250, and the visitors lost 27 out of their 30 wickets against the spinners. The reason behind this struggle could be due to national players not playing many domestic games.
However, the assistant coach of India believes that the desire for the team to do well in Australia and England for the last few years has developed their skills against the pacers but has been weakened against the spinners.
“We were undone in Sri Lanka, and I think the mindset of the Indians has been so driven to do well overseas.” The 44-year-old remarked during the conversation. “I think the focus has moved to doing well in Australia and doing well in England, and we’ve kind of let playing spin, which was always the strength of the Indian team, fall back a little bit.”
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The veteran advised that more than bringing technical changes among the players, the aim would be to keep on making mental shifts in the game.
“I don’t think much of what we’re going to bring is technical knowledge. It’s more about mindsets, situational awareness, and how we think they can control certain phases of the game.” India’s new assistant coach admitted. “We need to throw ideas out there, de-briefing and keeping the mental space good. That’s going to be important.”
The next series for India will be the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home, starting on September 19.