"Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble played domestic cricket despite having made it to the Indian team"- Former selector slams batters post BGT 2024-25 loss

Former Indian selector Sunil Joshi slammed the batters for not playing domestic cricket to sharpen their skills after the side's disappointing 1-3 series defeat to Australia down under. Despite the occasional brilliance, the Indian batters struggled massively to cope with the Australian attack and the pitches on offer.

The Australian series loss came after India suffered an unfathomable 0-3 home series whitewash to New Zealand with the batting against the turning ball being exposed. The back-to-back series defeats knocked India out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in tournament history.

In an interview with IANS (quoted by NDTV), Joshi said:

I've been saying this since I was part of the selection committee, people like Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble played domestic cricket despite having made it to the Indian team. Our top-order batters don't play domestic cricket, and why don't they play there?"

He added:

"If I am injured, no. If I've been playing all three formats of the game, then yes. If not, please go and play domestic cricket for four days, as when you score runs on those surfaces, it becomes much more easier. But suddenly, when you come, practice and play two sessions in a Test match on a turner, no chance to get runs then."

India was bowled out for under 200 in six out of their nine innings in the Australian series. They suffered a similar fate in the previous series at home against New Zealand, folding for below 200 in three out of the six innings and crossing 300 only once.

---

"How are we approaching Test cricket?" - Sunil Joshi

India have found the going tough on seaming and turning pitches in Tests [Credit: Getty]

Sunil Joshi questioned India's approach in Test cricket and called on the side to identify their strengths, especially on home soil.

India tinkered with their playing XI in almost every department for all five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, raising several eyebrows among former players and fans.

"For us, first of all, we need to look at what is our strength. How are we approaching Test cricket? Are we approaching Test cricket predominantly to play more on spin-friendly or a batting-friendly or a fast bowling-friendly pitch? We all know that when you get to Asia or the subcontinent, the wickets are going to be slow with low turn," said Joshi.

He added:

"If you don't want to play on a turner, don't play on a turner. You think that we have a good fast-bowling attack, so play on a good fast-bowling pitch. We need to understand that when our spinners get lots of wickets, our batters need to play against the opposition's less skilled spinners also."

With much to ponder over in terms of team combinations and personnel changes moving forward, India will be relieved that their Test assignment is only in June when they play England in a five-match away series.