Last Update:03 November 2024 19:23 IST

Anil Kumble feels it is time for the current side to openly admit that there is indeed something wrong with their batting performance of late.

Indian batsmen were disappointing during the New Zealand Test series. (Sportzpics)

Legendary leg-spinner and former Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Anil Kumble, feels that it is time for the current side to openly admit that there is indeed something wrong with their batting performance in recent times. It’s worrying as the World Test Championship approaches the final stages.

Kumble was unhappy with the performance of the Indian batting unit, which failed to hit the target of 147 in spin-friendly conditions in Mumbai as New Zealand went on to whitewash India to secure a 3-0 series win on Indian soil. A first since 1999/2000.

Rishabh Pant was the only batsman to score well, as he scored 64 while the others dispersed to put up a woeful batting display on their home turf once again. Senior stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have also come under fire for their inability to score runs with the bat despite playing on their home turf and in spin-friendly conditions.

Kumble claimed that the batting collapses seen in the New Zealand series have happened many times and no significant change has been seen yet. He also suggested that it was time for the team to take action and admitted that there were genuine concerns with the bat.

“This has happened consistently in the last three Test matches. Whenever the spinners came into play, there was no noticeable improvement from one game to the next. A few players made certain adjustments, which helped the batting line-up, but collectively, they were not able to avoid these slumps as a batting unit,” Kumble shared on JioCinema and Sports18.

“This has happened too often in a single session and that is worrying. For this squad to say ‘There is nothing wrong’, I think there is something seriously wrong here. The hardest part is admitting there is a problem. I’m sure this Indian team has to introspect “When they sit down at the table, they will understand that there is a serious problem that really needs to be solved,” he added.

Indian batsmen have come under the scanner for their weakness while playing against spinners. Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel wreaked havoc in the series to ensure that the Indian batsmen were unable to make much of an impact; This came as a surprise given that India have historically been known as prolific spinners.