Picture Credit: BCCI
Rohit Sharma-led India had a dismal outing at the Asia Cup 2022. The Men in Blue were knocked out in the Super 4 stage of the tournament as they lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in consecutive matches. Although India did end their campaign with an emphatic win over Afghanistan in their last Super Four match, their performance throughout the tournament was not up to the mark.
Scoring in the middle overs has been a concern for India for a while now. The same problem surfaced during the continental showpiece event as India’s run rate in the overs between 7-15 over stayed around 7 runs per over. Against Pakistan in the opening game, 59 runs were scored in those nine overs losing three wickets. Against Hong Kong, it was 62 runs, while in the Super 4s against Pakistan, it was 62 for 1.
India did improve in the next two games as they scored 78 runs off those nine overs against Sri Lanka. But still, the concern remains for the Men in Blue. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also expressed its concerns over this issue. According to a report in PTI, this problem was discussed during the selection meeting on Monday (12 September).
BCCI president and secretary Jay Shah along with the national selection committee did discuss the underwhelming performance of the national team during the continental championship. "Yes, the performance was discussed. But obviously, more than problems, the focus is on solutions and what are the things that needs to be improved during the T20 World Cup," a senior BCCI official privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"There is an obvious issue with batting during the middle overs, especially between 7th to 15th where we haven't done well in the Asia Cup. Obviously, the team's think-tank is aware and we have some world class players, who can obviously change their game as per team's needs," the official said.