Jansen’s 6-Wicket Burst Exposes India; Shastri Calls Out Selection Errors

Former India captain and former head coach Ravi Shastri expressed disappointment over India's first innings batting approach in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. Gautam Gambhir has tried a number of players at the number 3 slot of late without finding success. In the Kolkata Test, Washington Sundar was sent up to that number. Then ahead of the second match, Sai Sudharshan was brought back into the playing XI to play in this spot and Sundar was pushed down to number 8. The reshuffle did little good for the Indian team. Batting continued to disappoint the team who collapsed for 201 in response to South Africa's impressive 489.

In a Star Network interview, Shastri strongly questioned the team's planning and clarity, saying, "Absolutely not... It makes no sense. I don't understand the reason. When they review this series, some of these selections will confuse them. In Kolkata, you selected four spinners, and one of them bowled only one over, whereas you could have easily selected a specialist batsman."

He further said that after batting Washington at number three in the last Test, you could have played him at number four today, because you already had a number three. He's not number eight. He's much better than that. The former all-rounder said that despite the turmoil at the top, Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav fought back, adding 72 valuable runs for the eighth wicket after India were 122 for seven at the Barsapara Stadium. Their struggles helped India cross 200, but the deficit remained at a significant 288.