"Please learn something from India"- Basit Ali's suggestion to Pakistan after the Men in Blue's T20I series win over Bangladesh
Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali praised India's team management following the Men in Blue's T20I series victory over Bangladesh. India beat Bangladesh by 86 runs in the second T20I of the three-match series in Delhi on Wednesday, October 9, claiming an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Basit pointed out that India succeeded despite resting top-order batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shumban Gill for the series. He suggested that Pakistan should take a cue from their neighbors, as the Men in Green are reluctant to rest their players.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Basit said (from 1:33):
"The thought process is very important, which is missing in Pakistani cricket. India rested Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal but nobody rests in our team. So, please learn something from India."
India were off to a dismal start after being asked to bat first in the second T20I, with Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav perishing early. Playing in his debut series, Nitish Kumar Reddy showcased great composure, scoring 74 runs off just 34 balls.
Rinku Singh also notched up a fine half-century, finishing with 53 runs off 29 deliveries, while Hardik Pandya chipped in with a 32-run cameo off 19 balls. The hosts registered 221/9 in 20 overs. Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers, recording impressive figures of 4-0-16-2.
Veteran batter Mahmudullah was the only saving grace for Bangladesh with his 41-run knock. The side ultimately suffered an 86-run defeat, finishing at 135/9 after 20 overs.
"Gautam Gambhir's thinking has been a success" - Basit Ali on Team India's head coach
In the same video, Basit Ali lauded Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir's vision. He mentioned that backing youngsters like Rinku Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy will yield positive results for the team.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also seemed to be in awe of Nitish's power-hitting and Rinku's batting exploits and even compared the latter to Australia's white-ball legend Michael Bevan.
Basit remarked (from 0:53):
"The kind of sixes that Nitish hit should be called 'Athhe' and not sixes. And then Rinku Singh is Michael Bevan after all. Gautam Gambhir's thinking has been a success. I am not saying that he will win the World Cup straight away. Even if he flops, Gautam won't stop backing him because they pick players and make them and this is the best example of that."
The third and final T20I of the series between India and Bangladesh will be played at Ravij Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday, October 12.