‘Six or seven coaches are sitting’ – Mohammad Kaif slams Indian team for failing to identify Sonal Dinusha’s weakness

Sonal Dinusha produced a strong performance in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo, which ended in a draw from August 23 to 27, 2026. The left-handed batter batted 426 balls across both innings, scoring 103 in the first innings and an unbeaten 133 in the second innings. Dinusha’s contributions helped Sri Lanka post 290 in their first innings and 429 for nine declared in their second, while India scored 503 for nine declared.

Mohammad Kaif, the former India batter, criticised the Indian bowling unit and coaching staff for not identifying Dinusha’s weakness despite the resources available to them. Kaif highlighted that every batter has a shortcoming that needs to be identified through proper planning and discussion among the support staff.

“Every batter has a shortcoming somewhere. You need to find where the shortcoming is. I am not talking about Gill,” Kaif said during a discussion on the Sony Sports Network.

“I am talking about the entire bowling unit and even the coaching staff. Everyone sits together and discusses that he scored a hundred in Galle, and where we can trap him when he comes now. Tactically, I agree that they attacked less, the field was opened up yesterday, and the drive ball wasn’t bowled,” he added.

Dinusha’s strong performance in the second Test

Dinusha finished the two-Test series with 420 runs at an average of 140, demonstrating his strong form throughout the matches. The left-hander’s performance in the series was notable, with his ability to score heavily through sweep shots becoming a defining feature of his batting. His unbeaten 133 in the second Test underlined his capability to build substantial innings on challenging pitches.

Kaif pointed to specific instances where India’s bowlers had opportunities to exploit Dinusha’s vulnerability. He noted that Saransh Jain had dismissed Dinusha with a full ball after his hundred, and Mohammed Siraj had also bowled a full ball that Dinusha left because of his reluctance to play the drive shot. Despite these instances, Kaif felt the Indian team had not capitalised on this pattern.

Kaif’s criticism of India’s tactical approach

Kaif emphasised that India’s support structure should have identified and acted on Dinusha’s weakness against the full ball. The former batter stressed that with multiple analysts, statisticians and coaches available, the team should have developed a clear tactical plan to exploit this vulnerability.

“Saransh Jain had dismissed him with that after his hundred. Mohammed Siraj had bowled a full ball, and he left it because he doesn’t like playing the drive. He doesn’t like playing shots there,” Kaif said.

“You are talking about India. It’s not a club match that you got late. A video analyst is sitting, a stats person is sitting, and six or seven coaches are sitting,” he added.

Also Read: ‘If Virat Kohli had been playing result would have been different in Colombo’ – Mohammad Kaif explains why

Experience gap among India’s young bowlers

Kaif also acknowledged the challenge faced by India’s young bowlers in handling the conditions on the fifth day of a Test match. He explained that modern young bowlers rarely get the opportunity to play on such pitches because Test matches do not often extend to the fifth day, leaving them without the experience needed to adapt their tactics. Kaif noted that the Indian team had not previously faced Dinusha in the series, which made it harder to develop a plan against him.

“Our modern young bowlers play very rarely on such a pitch. They don’t play on the fifth day. A Test match doesn’t go that long. So they also don’t know how to tackle it, and we have not seen this batter. Assuming you get Joe Root, Ravindra Jadeja has bowled against him, so you can plan,” Kaif said.