NEW DELHI: India’s disastrous white-ball tour of the UK has prompted Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to announce a detailed review of the men’s T20I squad, with secretary Devajit Saikia confirming that the side’s performances will come under the scanner immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing England tour.The announcement comes after the reigning T20 World Cup champions slumped to a crushing nine-wicket defeat against England in Bristol, handing the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.Speaking to IANS from Edinburgh, where the ICC Annual Conference is being held, Saikia admitted that India is going through a difficult phase but expressed confidence that the council will identify the issues and work to resolve them.
“The team will be reviewed after the series”
“The thing is very simple. The Indian T20I team is going through a bad phase in their games against England and Ireland earlier. So, we will do a review once this series is over. Now, a bad phase is going through as far as the performance of the men’s T20I team is concerned,” said Saikia.“So, we will look at the problems they faced, and we will certainly try to solve them in a detailed review once the series is over,” he added.Saikia also confirmed the timeline for the exercise, saying, “The review will take place immediately after the ODI series ends in England on July 19.”
The tour of India is going from bad to worse
India’s white-ball campaign has fizzled out in recent weeks. The visitors were first handed a historic 0-2 T20I series whitewash by Ireland before England wrapped up the ongoing five-match series with a dominant win in Bristol.In the fourth T20I, India managed just 158/7 after electing to bat, with captain Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 80 standing out as the lone bright spot. England then made light work of the chase as captain Harry Brook (79 not out) and Phil Salt (59 not out) stitched an unbeatable partnership to seal victory with more than six overs to spare.The defeats exposed several concerns for the Indian side. The batting unit struggled to adapt to seam-friendly conditions, the bowling attack lacked the presence of Hardik Pandya and spearhead pace Jasprit Bumrah, while the pitch also fell short of the high standards expected of the defending world champions.With only the fifth T20I in Southampton remaining before the focus shifts to the three-match ODI series, India will be desperate to end the losing streak on a positive note.