Ashish Nehra surprised with Virat Kohli's handling of Jasprit Bumrah in second ODI against Australia

Former India fast-bowler Ashish Nehra has criticised Virat Kohli’s captaincy in the first two ODIs of the ongoing series against Australia. Nehra has questioned Kohli’s decision to bowl only two overs of Jasprit Bumrah upfront during the second match in Sydney on Sunday. The match was a must-win for the Men in Blue but they ended up losing it and consequently conceded the three-match series.

For the second match in a row, Australia took India’s bowlers to the cleaners. Steve Smith scored a 62-ball hundred for the second time in a row and helped the hosts post an imposing total of 389 for 4. The likes of Aaron Finch (60), David Warner (83), Marnus Labuschagne (70) and Glenn Maxwell (63*) played notable knocks too.

Talking about Bumrah, the right-arm pacer’s struggles continued. After conceding 73 runs in the series-opener, he ended up leaking 79 in the second game. However, he had started the match on a good note. The India pace spearhead had bowled the second and fourth overs of the innings, conceding 7 runs including a maiden in his first over.

But surprisingly Kohli took him out of the attack. At first, it seemed like the Indian captain took the pacer out of the attack to change ends for Mohammed Shami, but didn’t bring Bumrah back. He was kept out of the attack after just two overs even though Navdeep Saini was proving to be expensive.

Why use Jasprit Bumrah for only two overs? – asks Ashish Nehra

Speaking after India’s loss, Ashish Nehra questioned Virat Kohli’s decision of giving just two overs to Bumrah with the new ball. The former pacer pointed out that Kohli ‘is being hasty in his decisions’. Nehra said that the 32-year-old is making too many changes in bowling and advised him to take care of it as a captain.

“In today’s game, Virat Kohli gave two overs to Mohammed Shami and then brought Navdeep Saini. He wanted Shami to bowl from the other end, that I understand, but then, why would he use Jasprit Bumrah for only two overs with the new ball?” Ashish Nehra said in an interaction in cricbuzz.

“I agree Virat Kohli is making frequent changes in bowling. He only had five bowling options. India used Mayank Agarwal and Hardik Pandya – it was a decision made on the ground. If things were going in India’s way, you would not have seen these two getting an over.

“Virat Kohli is being hasty in his decisions. In the previous game (first ODI) as well, after Kohli was dropped, it seemed like he is in a hurry. Kohli has chased 350 several times in his career, it is not a big deal for him. But it seemed like he was chasing 475, not 375. I believe, Kohli is an impulsive captain. He is making too many changes in his bowling. And this is an area that he needs to take care of,” he added.