"If the top order and middle order do their respective jobs, then it should be enough" - Wasim Jaffer on Team India's lack of depth in batting order
Wasim Jaffer feels that India's long tail in the batting order should not be a concern as there is enough quality at the top. The Men in Blue could not get going with the bat for the second match in a row, leading to a two-wicket defeat in the second T20I against the West Indies on Sunday.
Barring Tilak Varma, no visiting batter has been able to make an impression in the five-match series so far. While the youngster notched his maiden fifty in the second T20I, he lacked support from other batters, leading to India posting only 152 while batting first.
The absence of Shardul Thakur and other all-rounders has also reduced the depth in India's batting, leading to the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav coming into bat earlier than ideal across both matches.
The issue with depth was evident in the series opener as well, where India collapsed from 113-4 to 144-9 while chasing 150 runs.
Wasim Jaffer opined that batters should not play conservatively thinking that there is no batting depth.
"The batters obviously keep in mind who is coming in at No.8 and No.9, but they should not do that. If the top order and middle order do their respective jobs, then it should be enough, they have got enough quality in their batting lineup," he said on ESPNcricinfo.
India do not have any options on the bench to potentially increase the batting depth. Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only batter on the sidelines, awaiting his T20I debut after having earned his maiden Test cap on the ongoing tour of West Indies.
"I think one of the top-order batters has to get 60-70 runs" - Wasim Jaffer on the key to post good totals on slow surfaces
Team India have struggled to identify totals or even find the right template to bat on sluggish, slow wickets. They have struggled against tight spin or even cutters bowled by the medium pacers as well. Across both T20Is so far, the Men in Blue have not looked at ease with the bat at any stage.
Wasim Jaffer feels that one of the top-order batters has to bat long and anchor the innings for the team to post a competitive total on such wickets.
"I think one of the top-order batters has to get 60-70 runs, like how Nicholas Pooran did and the others have to bat around him," he explained.
Ishan Kishan, the Player of the Series across the three-match ODI series, has struggled. Shubman Gill's form is also a worrying factor as he has struggled immensely on the tour, beginning from his stint at No. 3 in the Test series. Middle-order batters Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson have also struggled while Suryakumar Yadav is settling in at No. 3.