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New Delhi: India's stand-in ODI skipper KL Rahul on Saturday said that he does not have a definitive answer to the questions surrounding the team's recent trouble against spin. As the Indian batters failed to play spin against South Africa, they went down in the Test series 0-2 facing a lot of criticism and embarrassing.
Now ahead of the three-match ODI series against the Proteas which begins with the first game in Ranchi on Sunday, Rahul admits that the decline of their traditional strength remains a concern for the side going into the 50-over matches. Amid a worrying pattern of Indian batting line-up repeatedly failing against the spinners on the home tracks in Tests over the last two seasons has cost India a lot.
India lost to New Zealand 0-3 in the Test series last year in 2024 and then the Proteas recently whitewashed the hosts 2-0 on the back of a fantastic show by the spin bowlers. The likes of Mitchell, Santner, Ajaz Patel and off-spin sensation Simon Harmer enjoyed a lot of turn as they pushed the Indian batters against the wall in the second and final Test match in Guwahati.
On the eve of the first Test, Rahul, addressing the pre-match briefing, said that the team hasn't played spin well enough in the last couple of seasons and he does not really know why and how they played it well earlier and why they are facing difficulties now. Saying that he does not have a definitive answer, the stand-in skipper assured that the team will focus on getting betting individually and as a batting group.
He further said the batters will have to explore technical and tactical adjustments and it will be a long haul.
'It won’t change overnight. We’ll look at what improvements we need and hopefully by the time the Sri Lanka and Australia series come around, we’ll be better prepared. We’ll also reach out to seniors who played spin exceptionally well,' he added.
