Chopra remarked that as people have taken credit for the improvement in the bowling department, the “buck has to stop somewhere” for the dipped averages of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara in the last couple of years.
He said India needs to see if there have been any shortcomings in Rathour’s work and how he has addressed them.
In a video on his Youtube channel, Chopra said:
The former India batter added:
Rahthour was appointed batting coach in late 2019. And while Shastri, Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar left last year, he got an extension. However, India’s well-documented overseas success, which began at the same time as his arrival, has been mostly attributed to the fitter and more incisive bowling group.
Their consistency papered over the batting cracks, especially in the middle order. But it all came to a head in the recent series in South Africa, where the bowlers failed to bail out the struggling batting lineup in the last two Tests.
“The coach is suddenly like a football manager” - Aakash Chopra on India’s transition phase
Speaking on the second major issue with Indian cricket - Kohli’s sudden stepping down from the Test captaincy - Chopra said Rahul Dravid’s job has got tougher.
He feels that in this phase, Dravid’s role in designing India’s future path will be more important than the new captain, almost like a football club manager.
Chopra explained:
Chopra also lamented India’s failure to build a leadership group to succeed Kohli. He said there had been a “slight mismanagement” with regards to the trust shown in Rahane as a captaincy prospect despite his poor form. Chopra added:
India and South Africa will now clash in a three-match ODI series beginning at 2:00 pm IST on Wednesday in Paarl.
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