Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a 'defensive mindset' and for allowing New Zealand to draw consecutive Tests on Indian soil
Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a 'defensive mindset' and for allowing New Zealand to draw consecutive Tests on Indian soil.
"Dhoni is a very defensive captain. It's a misconception that he's aggressive. Firstly, he doesn't encourage spinners to toss the ball, batsmen to use their feet, always has a long on as well as a long off. Brendon McCullum made a mockery out of the attack by playing so many scoop shots.
"I have also noticed that he allows batsmen to steal lots of easy singles when the need of the hour must be to build pressure," Bedi told MiD DAY. "I have serious doubts about our bowling attack going into the tour of South Africa. We are going to depend heavily on Zaheer Khan," said Bedi.
The former India skipper was critical of the spin duo, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha for asking the curator a reason for the lack in turn: "The ball needs to be tossed above eye level. You need a big heart to bowl in Test cricket. A couple of good balls in an over does not help," he said.
Bedi said Harbhajan's four wickets in the first innings established that the pitch had a lot more in the offing than what the end result suggests.
Asked about left-arm spinner Ojha, Bedi said: "He bowls with a very flat trajectory. I don't know who has been advising him, but it is not working," the bowler with 266 Test wickets, opined.
S Sreesanth began proceedings yesterday, bowling an uppish length with two short mid-wickets in place. Kane Williamson struck the Kerala pacer for three boundaries, forcing Dhoni to make a change. "Sreesanth's inconsistent line makes it impossible to maintain pressure on a batting team. Dhoni needs to be a little more attacking in his mindset.
"An average cricket fan must be wondering who the No 1 and No 8 Test teams are in this instance. It is high time India started behaving like the No 1 team," Bedi concluded.
