Ravi Bishnoi’s no-ball problem sums up India’s horrendous UK tour | Cricket News
MUMBAI: The Indian T20 team is enduring an horrendous UK tour so far, where they are yet to win a match.India were clean swept 2-0 by Ireland, and trail England 2-0 after suffering their heaviest defeat-ever in this format when they were thrashed by 125 runs in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday night.India’s problem during the nightmarish tour uptill now have best been exemplified by the struggle of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi during the second T20I of the ongoing series. Bishnoi conceded 60 runs in four overs and cut the return crease three times, including twice in the 17th over that yielded 29 runs and swung the game decisively in England’s favour at Old Trafford. The leggie was dropped from the XI for the third T20I. Bishnoi’s childhood coach Shahrukh Khan feels that a “changed run-up technique” and an altered bowling action is causing India’s T20 leg-spinner’s backfoot no-ball problems.“His run-up technique has changed slightly from his previous style. His bowling arm at the point of release is also coming straight, which is totally different from his past action,” Shahrukh told TOI from Jodhpur.Shahrukh said that Bishnoi is making a “conscious effort” to rectify his no-ball issue, but the Gujarat and Rajasthan Royals‘ spinner’s “muscle memory” seems to have become a “significant impediment” in the process. “He is receptive to all feedback, yet currently unable to implement changes. I am endeavoring to reinstate his prior technique, but his muscle memory appears to be a significant impediment to modification at this time. He is also making a conscious effort. During drills and net sessions, his bowling performance aligns with his previous action; however, in competitive matches, he seems to revert to ingrained habits,” Shahrukh explained.Decoding Bishnoi’s mistake from a technique point of view, former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan posted on ‘X’ a couple of days back, “About Ravi Bishnoi, if you enlarge and see the picture of back foot landing 1st and front foot landing later. So a Coach has to keep an eye on that for any bowler’s alignment. Hence oversight by coaches in NCA, COE and coaches at IPL(Normally Overseas Fast Bowlers) have not given the right inputs. Hence he is struggling. Feel bad for him though. Spin bowling is a science. It has to be taught properly from a young age.”Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer said that batters can pick Bishnoi easily “once they get used to him”, as he bowls quickly, and his “leg-spinner doesn’t turn a great deal.”“I mean, I feel that once batters get used to Ravi Bishnoi, it becomes easier to face him. He bowls at almost 100 km/h, and at that pace, his leg-spin doesn’t turn a great deal. Most of the time, it’s either a topspinner or he’s trying something different, but eventually there’s a certain pace to his bowling. He also bowls the googly, but it seems that batters have started to figure out how to play him. We saw this in the IPL as well. Rajasthan Royals didn’t play him much. They gave him opportunities in the initial matches, and he did reasonably well, but after that they left him out and played Yash Raj Punja instead. So, I think Ravi Bishnoi needs to make a few changes to his game if he wants to remain successful. Otherwise, if he continues to bowl at the same pace and batters get accustomed to him, it becomes quite easy for them to face him,” Jaffer said.Bishnoi’s selection in India’s T20I squad for the Ireland and England tours has raised a few eyebrows. He featured in only eight of Rajasthan Royals’ 16 matches in this year’s IPL. At the post-second T20I presentation, India’s new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer didn’t name Bishnoi, but blamed his disastrous over squarely for the defeat. Iyer told the host broadcaster: “I know where it all went away, but I don’t want to pinpoint any particular player.” Jaffer pointed out that there were a few leg-spinners whom India can consider as options to Bishnoi. “Looking at the IPL, India has plenty of bowling options. Kuldeep Yadav isn’t part of this team. We also saw Shivang Kumar perform well for Sunrisers, so there are alternatives available. It’s not as if India doesn’t have options. I think the selectors have picked Ravi Bishnoi with the next World Cup in mind. You back young players and give them opportunities to see whether they can succeed at ICC events and whether you can build your team around them. Ultimately, the selectors will take that call. Ravi Bishnoi is a good bowler, but I feel he needs to add a bit more variety to his bowling,” he concluded.
