IND v AUS 2020: Irfan Pathan questions Indian bowlers' consistency; asks them to find right lengths
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has raised questions about the consistency levels of the current Indian bowling attack. He felt that the bowlers should have found the right lengths in Australia quickly, but instead they have struggled to bowl in the proper areas so far.
The Indian cricket team has now lost the 3-match ODI series. The Aussie batsmen dominated Jasprit Bumrah and co. in both games and Irfan Pathan took to Twitter to express his disappointment after India's defeat in the second match.
"Quality of our Bowlers is unquestionable but consistency is. It was all about finding the right length in Australia quickly, which hasn't happened yet #AUSvIND," Irfan Pathan wrote.
Should the Indian cricket team opt for a left-arm pacer in the playing XI?
Despite suffering a 66-run defeat in the first ODI, Virat Kohli went with an unchanged playing XI on Sunday. The Indian bowling attack comprised of three right-arm fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Navdeep Saini.
While Bumrah and Shami have performed decently on this tour, Saini has proven to be quite expensive with the ball. Yuzvendra Chahal's high economy rates have put the Indian team under further pressure. Perhaps, the team management could try including left-arm fast bowler T Natarajan in the playing XI for the final match.
Natarajan had an impressive IPL 2020 season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he picked up 16 wickets in 16 games. Left-arm fast bowlers have always done well in limited-overs cricket, and someone like Natarajan could add variety to the Indian fast bowling unit.
Sources had reported that the Indian team management could rotate Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in the limited-overs series. Therefore, one of the two pacers could be rested to include Natarajan in the playing XI for the third and final ODI.