‘We looked a little below-par’: Bharat Arun on India’s 10-wicket loss against Pakistan in T20 World Cup

India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun reflected on the Men In Blue’s first match of the T20 World Cup’s Super 12 stage, in which India suffered a heavy 10-wicket defeat by arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24. He admitted that the Virat Kohli & Co. looked a bit below-par in the high-voltage clash. 

India then lost their second match against New Zealand, however, they bounced back with big wins against Afghanistan and Scotland but it was not enough as Pakistan and New Zealand qualified for the semis from Group 2. 

“I am not trying to give any excuses but this World Cup, the trend has been that the team which wins the toss has a big advantage especially when you are playing in Dubai. The wicket eases out when you bowl the second time, it is no excuse, we should have done better, we should have batted better,” said Arun. 

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“In the first game, we had the chance to defend our total but we looked a little below-par,” the bowling coach added. During the match, India batted first after losing the toss and the Virat’s side was off to the worst possible start. Pak’s left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-31) thrashed the Indian batting order. With a disciplined bowling attack, Pakistan kept India to 151-7. 

In reply to that, Pakistan chased down the target with 13 balls to spare thanks to their opening pair Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s half-centuries. Pakistan registered their first-ever win over arch-rivals at a Twenty20 World Cup. 

During the presser ahead of India’s final match of the Super 12 stage against Namibia (on Nov 8), which is a dead rubber, Arun said India must explore the possibility of having different bowlers for each format of the game to keep them physically and mentally fresh. 

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Arun further added that India’s bowlers would have benefited from a longer break between the Indian Premier League (IPL) competition and the current tournament. 

“Not only the volume of cricket our country is playing … I can guarantee it’s not easy to be in the bubble and keep playing throughout the year,” Arun, whose tenure ends with that of head coach Ravi Shastri after the World Cup, told reporters.

“They do need sufficient breaks, because I think even mental health is going to be very important going forward. And this is going to be the norm for us at least for the next year or two.

“So it’s important that we have a good pool of fast bowlers. There’s enough talent in our country so we can afford to field different teams for different formats.”

(With inputs from agencies)