"One-day mein to bada left-right combination kar rahe the" - Basit Ali takes a dig at Gautam Gambhir after India's loss in 4th BGT 2024-25 Test

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali took a dig at Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir after the visitors lost the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne by 184 runs. Questioning India's tactics in the Boxing Day Test, he wondered why they did not promote Nitish Reddy in the second innings despite him notching up his maiden Test ton in the first innings.

Chasing a target of 340 to win the MCG Test against Australia, India were bowled out for 155 in 79.1 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored for 84, while Rishabh Pant (30) was the only other batter to reach double figures in India's second innings.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ali opined that India missed a trick by not promoting Reddy in the batting order. He said (as quoted by Times of India):

"Shabash hai Gautam Gambhir saab ko. One-day mein to bada left-right combination kar rahe the. Aaj bhejna tha No. 6 pe Nitish (Reddy) ko. Chahe woh jaldi out ho jata, pata toh chalta kuchh kiya aapne (Congratulations to Gambhir; he keeps advocating for left-right combination in one-day cricket, should have sent Nitish at No. 6; even if he had failed, it would have showed the coach tried something)."

The 54-year-old also lashed out at the assistant coaches, questioning what kind of training they are providing to the batters. Ali added:

"Pata nahi kaun batting coach hai jisko yeh nahi pata ki kis tarah survive kiya jata hai aur kis bowler ko kis tarah khela jata hai (I don’t know who is the batting coach who can't advise on how to survive and how to play a particular bowler)."

He also opined that the time has come for India to have separate coaches for white-ball and red-ball formats to prevent the side from further embarrassment. Gambhir is the head coach across formats while Morne Morkel is the bowling coach; Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are assistant coaches.

---

"Pant ne bewakoofi kari" - Basit Ali slams Indian batter for Day 5 dismissal in 4th BGT 2024-25 Test

Ali was also critical of Pant's stroke in the final session of play in Melbourne, which opened the doors of victory for Australia. The left-handed batter attempted a pull off part-timer spinner Travis Head, but miscued his shot and ended up getting caught in the deep. Slamming the keeper-batter's choice of stroke, Ali said (as quoted by Times of India):

"Pant ne bewakoofi kari. Chhakka marne gaye. Kya hua? Kisko nuksaan hua? Mulk ko aur team ko (Pant did a foolish thing, went for a six. What happened? Who suffered? His country and his team). That shot changed the entire match. Upar wale ne yeh (pointing at his head) diya hai na, isko use karte hain (God has given you brain, it should be used)."

India were reasonably placed to draw the MCG Test at 121-3 in the last session. However, Pant's dismissal led to a batting collapse, which saw Team India lose seven wickets in the final session of the gripping contest.