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Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary felt the hosts should have picked pacer Akash Deep for the first New Zealand Test in Bengaluru. India went with three spinners and two pacers, with the fast bowlers being Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
This was despite Akash Deep's impressive start to his Test career with eight wickets in three outings, including five in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh before the ongoing New Zealand rubber.
The decision to exclude the Bengal pacer proved costly as the Bengaluru wicket swung and seamed for the quick men for most of the contest, resulting in India's shocking eight-wicket defeat.
Tiwary told Cricbuzz post-match:
"Akash Deep performed impressively against Bangladesh. His confidence level was high. He never would have imagined not playing the first Test in those conditions. He must have been left shocked not seeing his name in the playing XI. But he is certain to bounce. You also have Mayank Yadav in Bengaluru with the team, right after featuring in the T20I series. Players like him should have been used."
"I believe that if you have a bowler who is in rhythm, is picking wickets in international and domestic cricket, and has that X factor as well, pick him in the squad and play him. Siraj has not picked a single wicket in the second innings in Tests this year, which is quite concerning. He should have been rested for a few games, so that he gets the time to focus on the basics and work on his release. We have a lot of back-up bowlers," he added,
Siraj endured a disappointing outing on a highly responsive track, picking up combined figures of 2/100 across the two innings.
"When you are defending 107, why didn't you bring him in the attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah" - Manoj Tiwary
Manoj Tiwary further criticized skipper Rohit Sharma for under-bowling ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during New Zealand's run-chase.
Ashwin had a rare off-color showing in the first innings, with woeful figures of 1/94 in 16 overs. He was brought on to bowl as the fifth option in the second innings with New Zealand requiring only 10 more runs in their run-chase of 107.
"Rohit admitted that he misread the pitch which is why India picked the wrong playing XI. India should have played two spinners, instead of three. And I had predicted that one of the spinners would be under-bowled, but I never imagined that would be Ashwin. He has over 500 wickets. When you are defending 107, why didn't you bring him in the attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah," Tiwary said in the same interaction.
He also felt head coach Gautam Gambhir should helped Rohit with his decision-making to avoid such glaring errors.
"Sometimes good captains also make mistakes, that is why the role of a coach is so important with providing constant guidelines. I don't know why that did not happen," added Tiwary.
The defeat was India's first in Tests at home to New Zealand since 1988 and only their third overall to the Black Caps in home Tests.
Rohit Sharma's Men will look to bounce back and level the series in the second Test at Pune, starting Thursday, October 24.
