Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak admitted the Indian team is in a situation where a change at the top of the order looks imminent and Sanju Samson may be brought into the mix. “See, basically, if we felt that Sanju’s last few innings were low on confidence and Ishan was scoring runs, then obviously you go with Ishan.” he opined. Abhishek Sharma has been a shadow of his former self in this tournament so far, and the alarm bells are thus ringing in the Indian camp.
“Now we are in a situation where we have to think about whether we need to change anything or if we should still go with the same thing. But yes, it is definitely something to think about. If we have to change something, what do we change and how do we change it?”
Having lost one Super Eight game against South Africa by a heavy margin, India are in a spot of bother with a mandatory requirement to win the remaining two fixtures, against Zimbabwe and West Indies. However, Kotak says the players are used to such high-pressure situations.
“See, I feel that even in a normal game, if you play in India, there is natural pressure. Any professional – any batsman or bowler – feels it when they are playing. There is more pressure on the batsman because it is a one-ball game. For a bowler, it is different. If he misses one or two balls, he can still bowl a good one.
”But with the amount of cricket we play, we have to take that pressure. Everyone has to take it – that anxiety, that pressure. If a batsman does not take it at this level, or if a bowler does not take it, then where will he take it?
“So there will be pressure. That is the whole thing. But there are two matches left. We know where we are. One bad day we had – we have to accept it – we did not play well. And we will have to move forward and try to win the two games properly because we do not have any other option, whether we take pressure or not.”
