Ravichandran Ashwin points out ‘big concern’ for India ahead of New Zealand ODIs

India vs New Zealand. (Source:BCCI/X)

India wrapped up their five-match T20I series against New Zealand with a 3-2 victory, but the manner in which the bowling unit performed in the final two games has drawn sharp criticism. The five-match ODI series between the two sides is set to begin in Auckland on November 4, and concerns about India’s bowling attack are already mounting ahead of that contest.

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, did not hold back in his assessment of the bowling performances. While he acknowledged several bright spots in the batting department, he was pointed in his criticism of how the bowlers allowed New Zealand to post big totals on two separate occasions during the T20I leg of the tour.

Ashwin praised the contributions of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma with the bat, noting that their performances gave India genuine positives to carry into the ODI series. However, he was clear that the bowling required urgent attention before the five-match ODI series gets underway in Auckland.

“It is a big concern. Look at how many times we have conceded over 200 runs. Especially in the last few games. I am praising the team. But you need to look into the bowling before it gets worse. There are new guys in the bowling lineup,” said Ashwin on his show, ‘Ash ki Baat’, as quoted by NDTV.

Why did Ashwin single out the bowling unit for criticism?

India’s bowlers conceded in excess of 200 runs in two of the five T20I matches against New Zealand. The team won the first three games under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy but then dropped the final two, a pattern that Ashwin linked directly to the inability of the bowling group to defend totals or restrict the opposition in the back half of the series.

Ashwin was particularly troubled by what he saw as a lack of clear planning and execution from the bowling unit. He pointed to basic errors that he felt should not be appearing at this level, and questioned whether the team management had addressed these issues in their internal discussions.

“But what I am finding difficult to understand is what planning do they have? What are the talks in the meetings? If you don’t address this, it will keep getting bigger. So I am concerned. There were some basic errors,” he said.

Which batting performances did Ashwin highlight as positives from the T20I series?

Despite his concerns about the bowling, Ashwin was generous in recognising what the batters produced across the five T20Is. He pointed to Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir as the standout positives, describing their contributions as something India could build on going into the ODI series.

Ashwin also acknowledged Abhishek Sharma’s batting in the series, calling one of his innings stunning. He mentioned Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav among those who contributed, while noting that Sanju had one good innings. His overall assessment of the batting was broadly positive, even as he stressed that the bowling remained the area demanding immediate focus.

“Abhishek played a stunning innings. Sanju had one good innings. Vaibhav, Ishan, Tilak, all this is expected. For me, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tilak Varma, and Naman Dhir were the positives. What they did is something we can carry forward. India definitely have to work on T20 bowling without Bumrah. Forget about the skills. Planning and execution were very average,” Ashwin elaborated.

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