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Former India star all-rounder Irfan Pathan has a piece of advice for India playing in the overseas condition as South Africa defeated India by seven wickets in Cape Town Test and also claimed the three-match Test series 2-1.
Irfan on Saturday (January 15) said that the India should prefer having a wrist spinner in the playing XI while playing Tests in overseas and also batted for the spinners' comeback.
"Indian middle-order looks like it will change, Should too. But I strongly believe in having a wrist spinner in overseas conditions. Which will have a solid wicket-taking option in any condition," said Pathan in a tweet backing the Indian spinners.
Kuldeep Yadav was the last wrist-spinner to play Test in the England series at home. But it was India’s finger-spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who dominated the series with over 50 wickets combined in four matches.
Earlier, Virat blamed team's inconsistent batting performance for the Cape Town and eventually Test series defeat.
"The batting has let us down. No running away from that. I can't sit here and talk about what will happen in the future. It's not my job. That's for the selectors. We continue to back Cheteshwar and Rahane. For a team so driven and eager to win everywhere in the world, and having done so, it is very difficult to accept this loss. We are bitterly disappointed," Kohli had said in the post-match press conference.
Pujara had scored 43 in the first innings and nine in the second essay of the final Test but Rahane failed to leave a mark in both innings as he scored nine and one in the third game. In fact, India received more in extras (136) compared to what Ajinkya Rahane (136) and Cheteshwar Pujara (124) scored in the series.
Kohli further said the batting, including the lower-order, didn't stand up to the occasion as a collective unit. After making 327 in the first innings at Centurion, India made scores of 174, 202, 266, 223 and 198 in the rest of the series.
"When we say batting, we mean numbers eight and ten too. It is a collective responsibility. Everyone knows it (lower order didn't contribute). We lost too many wickets in clusters, which is why we lost this series," Kohli added.
