T20 World Cup 2021: 'India didn't have a plan B'- Brad Hogg

Team India staring at a group-stage exit after consecutive defeats [Image- Twitter]

Former Australian leg-spinner Brad Hogg believes Team India never had a plan B in their losses against New Zealand and Pakistan. The Men in Blue have tasted defeat in both their group games in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

Team India is on the verge of a first-round exit from an ICC event for the first time since 2012. A poor approach with the bat led to their undoing against Pakistan and the Kiwis.

In a must-win game against the Black Caps, the Indian batters failed to marry intent with execution and ended up mustering a below-par total of 110/7.

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India's middle-order bastmen Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya have struggled to take the innings by the scruff off the neck during the middle-overs.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg opined that it was disappointing to see Pant and Pandya not backing their natural game.

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Hogg said:

"Where was that fearless approach, it was a confused approach in the middle when Pant and Hardik were batting. There is a style of cricket that you play and when you don't stick to that style, it's disappointing. It seems that India didn't have a plan or a plan B."

'I was disappointed that India suddenly changed their top order'- Brad Hogg

India's success as a batting unit in T20I cricket over the past 4 years was built on consistent performances of their top-3.

The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul fell cheaply in their first game against Pakistan. After just one poor outing, the Kohli-led management took a huge punt by spotting southpaw Ishan Kishan at the top of the order. Kishan was followed by Sharma and Kohli at 3 and 4 respectively.

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The move backfired massively as both Kishan and Rahul fell inside the powerplay, exposing Rohit and Virat to the spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitch Santner.

Like Indian fans and pundits, Hogg also expressed his disappointment at India changing their top-order for such a crucial game. The former cricketer also expressed at Sharma's inability to handle the situation during the middle-overs.

He said:

"England and West Indies play with their philosophy of attacking. Ind's philosophy is they rely on the top three to play long and that's why I was disappointed that they suddenly changed their top order. Someone of Rohit's caliber, you expect him that he will handle the situation."

India will next take on Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on November 03.