Zero preparation for SA, says former captain Bishan Singh Bedi

The Indian Cricket Team today lost the second Test match against South Africa. The team failed to cope with the expectations of the fans. They have now lost the series by a margin of 0-2 with one more game to be played. Also, this is the first series loss for Virat Kohli as a full-time captain. Virat’s honeymoon at the helm of the team has now ended. He had a dream-run and the team won 10 consecutive series under him before suffering this loss.

Critics lashed out at the team for their performance. the skipper too, vented his frustration in the post-match press-conference today. On being questioned about the team selection, he counter-attacked a journalist by asking him to suggest him the best eleven. He also silenced a South African reporter by telling him that the Proteas’ performance in India was similar.

India wasted time playing Sri Lanka

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is not at all surprised with the current team’s surrender in South Africa. Bedi is very vocal about his opinions and he feels that Kohli’s men went into the series without serious preparation and “wasted time” playing Sri Lanka at home.

The management stated that Sri Lanka tour was a preparation for South Africa. They got green turfs prepared in that series.

“There was no preparation. We wasted our time with the Sri Lankans. There was no sense in playing a weak team for one and a half month when we should be preparing for South Africa,” Bedi was quoted as saying by TOI when asked about India’s preparation.

“It was supposed to be a tough tour and it required intense preparation. You beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and you then call them to India, for what? The Indian cricketers would have been better off playing domestic cricket or preparing themselves exclusively for the tour,” the legend added.

Disappointed with the Team selection

Bedi said that batting and fielding let India down in the series. He was also not particularly happy with the team selection either. Expressing his disappointment, the former left-arm spinner said: “It is not my job to pick the team. I can only say that vice-captain, who is part of the decision-making, is not playing. I can’t agree with that,”

The decision to keep Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the team for the second Test in Centurion didn’t really make sense to him either. Talking about Rahane he mentioned, “Whether you like it or not, he is a human being. Rahane is not going to take this development positively. Why did you make him vice-captain if you had to drop him?”