For a side that has built its reputation on world-class spin bowling and clinical finishing, India’s recent performances have exposed uncomfortable truths. The spinners, long considered the backbone of the attack on helpful surfaces, have found themselves outbowled and out-thought by opposition batters who have read turn and pace off the pitch with surprising ease. What used to be India’s trump card is suddenly looking like a liability, and as CricketBuzz has observed across recent fixtures, the lack of variation and control in the middle overs has handed momentum straight back to the opposition.
The death-overs problem is arguably even more alarming. Bowlers tasked with defending totals in the final five overs have repeatedly leaked boundaries at crucial junctures, undoing the good work done earlier in the innings. Yorkers have drifted into full tosses, slower balls have been picked early, and fielding placements haven’t adjusted quickly enough to counter aggressive batting. CricketBuzz understands that team management is actively reviewing bowling plans and personnel ahead of upcoming assignments, aware that these lapses have cost crucial matches in tight run-chases.
The Hardik Pandya Factor
Perhaps the most visible gap, though, is the one left by Hardik Pandya’s reduced workload. His absence isn’t just about losing a death-overs specialist or a hard-hitting finisher — it’s about the balance he brings as a genuine all-rounder who allows India to field an extra specialist batter or bowler. Without him fully fit and firing, the team has had to compromise either on batting depth or bowling firepower, and that trade-off has been glaringly visible in recent collapses and late-innings capitulations.
None of these issues are irreversible, and India’s depth of talent means solutions could emerge quickly through domestic cricket and net sessions. But with big tournaments on the horizon, the management has little time to paper over these cracks. Stay with CricketBuzz for more as India’s selectors and coaching staff look to address the spin conundrum, tighten the death bowling, and find a way to replicate the all-round value Pandya brings to the side.
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