India were run very close by an inspired Afghanistan in their previous match and they could escape from the jaws of defeat only because of their bowlers. The spinners and then Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami stamped their class over the Afghan batting order on a pitch which was sluggish. However, there was a criticism of the Indian batting, especially MS Dhoni, as he shut shop while batting which allowed Afghanistan spinners to control proceedings in the middle order.
Only Indian captain Virat Kohli was able to play with freedom as he skipped away to 67 off 63, but the rest of the batting order struggled. Ahead of the match against West Indies, India bowling coach Bharat Arun spoke on a number of issues at the press conference but took a rather diplomatic route while addressing the concerns of India's middle order, especially MS Dhoni.
Cannot compare Kohli with anybody
"I think Virat Kohli is probably the number one batsman across all formats. So I think to compare anybody to the way he plays is not right," Arun said at the media interaction before rebuffing the question on Dhoni's struggles in the middle overs.
He also said that head coach Ravi Shastri speaks with all the batsmen and there is constant dialogue in order to improve and progress and that it was not specific to only MS Dhoni.
"There is a constant dialogue between all the batsmen, the support staff, the batting coach, the head coach - Ravi Shastri has a constant dialogue with all the coaches. I can't really get into the brass tacks of what we discuss, but yes if I have to answer your question, there is a constant dialogue for us to improve," Arun further added.
The bowling coach also backed MS Dhoni for coming good in the tournament and even tried to justify his slow approach against Afghanistan citing the conditions on offer and the situation he walked out to bat in.
"I think according to the situation and the condition of the wicket, we were able to successfully defend the total that we put up. And had we probably lost a wicket at that stage (when Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were batting), then things would have turned out differently. So I don't think it's too much of a concern for us right now," Arun added.
