Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 factors that contributed to India’s defeat at Perth

#3 Selection blunders that defied logic which proved to be costly

The selection of the team went horribly wrong

There is undoubtedly no doubt in everybody’s mind regarding the quality, class and skill of Virat Kohli the batsman. His hundred at the Optus Stadium, Perth was a testament to his unique brilliance. But can the same praises be showered upon his captaincy? Well, the answer to that is a NO.

Virat Kohli has paid the price for some dubious selection blunders in South Africa and England and one would have hoped that he would improve with time.

But going by some of the selection misfires he made for the Perth test, Virat Kohli’s captaincy especially overseas would come under question.

With Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma out due to injury, India went in with four specialist bowlers for the second test match.

A selection that lacked common sense as the conditions in Perth are tiring and hot, and more importantly, the pitched offered a lot of turn for the spinners (Australia’s Nathan Lyon was the MOM for his eight-wicket haul).

Irrespective of the pitch conditions, it always helps to have a spinner in your team. As they hold one end up, offer a different challenge to the batsmen and with this being the first test match at the new Perth Stadium, makes more sense to play a specialist spinner.

Virat Kohli and the team management’s decision to opt for Umesh Yadav instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar also was baffling. Bhuvi offers a different dimension with the swing he generates and, he can contribute with the bat.

Umesh Yadav was far from being par, hardly troubled the batsmen and leaked runs at almost four runs an over when scoring runs was a challenge. A selection that backfired big time on the Indian team management.

With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravichandran Ashwin set to play at the MCG, we may get to see some more sense and logic in the selection unlike what happened at the Perth.