“Test Cricket Isn’t Everyone’s Cup Of Tea”: Mohammad Kaif Targets Shubman Gill-Led India

Team India could only secure a draw in the second Test against Sri Lanka as Gautam Gambhir‘s men fell short of their target of two wins from the series. India did well in posting 509 runs on the board while batting first but the Lankans batted valiantly to force a draw despite being asked to follow-on. As the series ended with just one win to India’s name, former batter Mohammad Kaif targeted the tourists, questioning a number of players in the team, suggesting things could’ve been different if Virat Kohli was still playing.

Kohli has been credited by many as the man who transformed Indian cricket, especially in Tests. His energy levels and unforgiving attitude on the field helped India register many memorable wins.

Seeing the Shubman Gill-led side throw in the towel on the final day, Kaif wasn’t impressed.

“Playing Test cricket is not everyone’s cup of tea, boss. It is a very long game, and you have to keep bowling continuously. I felt that if someone like Virat Kohli had been playing this match, he would have been constantly shouting and keeping his team switched on. At times, I felt we took things for granted, thinking, ‘Just keep bowling, it will happen. The ball is turning so much, it will happen on its own’,” Kaif said in a video on his social media account.

Kaif also questioned the Indian team’s energy levels in the second Test as Gill failed to recreate Kohli-like atmosphere in lifting the spirits of his teammates.

“We created very few things ourselves. Our energy levels were also very low. That is why I am saying, if Virat Kohli had been playing this Test match, the result would have been different. The reason is that he would have been telling everyone, ‘Come on, Sarfaraz, come on, Jaiswal,’ and he would have gone after Sonal as well. Who were we getting into confrontations with? We were getting into confrontations with Kumara.”

“The player we actually needed to get out was Sonal, I saw a video of him saying something like, ‘Look at their faces, look at their faces.’ I just saw a video where he was saying this to Kumara in their local language. Basically, he was saying, ‘Look at their faces.’ The authority he had while batting showed that there was no pressure on him at all.”

“There was no pressure from the sledging, nor was there a big player coming up to him and trying to unsettle him. When players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni or Ravichandran Ashwin are around and look at you like that, you feel the pressure. I felt we missed that as well.”

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