Image Credit- PTI
Kris Srikkanth, the Indian cricket team’s former
captain, delivered a critical assessment, labelling the team’s Test unit as
overrated. India, the top Test cricket team, has been unbeatable when playing
at home, but its international performance has been far from stellar. Since
Virat Kohli resigned as captain, India has lost a series in South Africa, to
England, and in the World Test Championship final earlier this year. In
contrast, India won in Australia and defeated England 2-1 in 2021 when Kohli
was captain.
Based on his judgement following India’s utter defeat
in the first Test match in Centurion last week, Srikkanth believes that the
team’s inability to perform well in Tests is due to the presence of too many
“overrated” cricket players who haven’t lived up to their potential.
Shubman Gill has had mixed results, and Shreyas Iyer has only had success with
pitches on the subcontinent thus far.
“Test cricket, we are overrated. I think it was a
phase of 2-3 years where we were outstanding when Virat Kohli was the captain
of the team. We dominated in England, we fought hard in South Africa, we won in
Australia,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel. “We have to forget
the ICC rankings. We are always 1-2, 1-2. It’s a combination of having
overrated cricketers and people who have not performed up to their potential.
Or there are players who do not have enough chances, like Kuldeep (Yadav).”
Although Srikkanth is dissatisfied with India’s
performance in the Tests, he is optimistic about the country’s one-day squad.
India proved they were a strong side in one-day internationals (ODIs) during
the World Cup, winning ten straight games until losing to Australia in the last
round. In the ODIs that followed, they even triumphed over South Africa,
further solidifying Srikanth’s position. That being said, Srikkanth is adamant
that India performs poorly in Twenty20 Internationals, just as they do in Tests.
“In T20 cricket India are highly overrated. ODI
cricket, we are a fantastic team. What happens in ODIs, in the semi-finals,
finals, it’s just a one-off match. It’s a luck factor, a lot depends on luck in
these matches. I read Rohit Sharma’s statement, for a cricketer; the 50-over
World Cup is a huge achievement. We are sometimes underperforming in the
knockout matches, in the semifinals and the final. But we are a gun side in
ODIs. Regardless of where we play, be it India, Australia or South Africa, we
are a gun side,” Srikkanth added.