Indian cricket in crisis: Shami blames poor batting for series loss against South Africa

Crisis in Indian cricket has deepened after Team India pacer Mohammed Shami blamed the batters for the test series loss against South Africa.

India lost the series 2-1. Shami was the highest wicket-taker. He claimed 14 wickets at an average of 21. In an interview with The Telegraph, Shami said batting was loose in the series and the team suffered because of that.

“Yes, our batting may have been a bit loose at times, due to which the team has suffered in South Africa”, Shami said.

“Please don’t forget that our bowling unit has been doing exceedingly well, and been consistent on most occasions. So this is one huge positive that always keeps us in the game. Yes, our batting may have been a bit loose at times, due to which the team has suffered. If we had some 50-60 more runs to defend, we certainly could’ve had a greater chance of winning those two games,” he added.

“But I’m sure things will be sorted out,” the 31-year-old said.

KL Rahul was the team’s highest scorer with 226 runs in 6 innings, but 123 of those runs came in one inning. Mayank Agarwal played a hand of 60 in the 1st innings at Centurion but could not cross 30 on the rest of the tour. He only managed 135 runs at an average of 22.5

Cheteshwar Pujara scored just 124 runs in 6 innings while Ajinkya Rahane had 136. Rishabh Pant was the only other centurion in the series but he also only managed 186 runs in 6 innings. Virat Kohli, who missed the 2nd Test, scored 161 runs in 4 innings.

“See, we’ve been playing on a fairly regular basis and been part of bubble life for quite some time now. So summing up the overall situation, I would only say that ups and downs happen, and we just don’t need to get too hyper or worry too much about it,” Shami added.