3rd Test: ‘Treating Rohit, Virat with more patience will help them’, says assistant coach Abhishek Nayar

Mumbai: The abject surrender by the Indian batters in the second Test against New Zealand and the manner in which the two senior most batters — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma — got out has invited a lot of criticism. Their failure to contribute a lot of runs is cause for concern, especially with India set to soon embark on a long tour of Australia next month.

However, the Indian team management is not overly concerned about the two great batters’ twin failures and the team’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said the two senior batters should be treated with more patience.

“I have myself been a top player and so when someone who’s been through the journey goes through a lot, a lot of times it’s about giving them their space and trusting that they will come back, they will put in the work. See everyone’s worked really hard. Everyone wants to do well. Everyone, whether Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or even someone else, the effort is there; the approach is great.

“I feel they’re putting in the hard yards and sometimes you got to be a little patient even with the greatest of players and they can have tough times and I’m pretty sure sooner rather than later, we’ll have more to praise about everyone else as well,” Nayar told a press conference at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday, two days ahead of the third Test against New Zealand.

Having lost a series at home for the first time in 12 years and with a crucial Test series scheduled to be played Down Under, the Wankhede Test, though inconsequential from the series perspective, holds great value for India as it is an opportunity to do well and step onto the flight to Australia on a more bullish mood.

Nayar said as the support staff, the upcoming Test at the Wankhede is as crucial as any other match and they are hoping for luck to favour the home team after losing two consecutive matches.

“Whenever you’re playing for India, whenever you’ve got this jersey on, you get pressure. Every week is critical.Every game is critical. I am talking on behalf of the support staff and we’ve not been narrow-minded in terms of, you know, thinking about the WTC or Australia tour. I think what’s ahead of us is this game at the Wankhede. Hopefully home conditions will be kind to me and the team as well,” said Nayar on Wednesday.

“So I think the approach is pretty simple, stay in the present, take it as it comes, day by day. If we can overcome this ordeal, I think that would be one step further in where the team wants to go eventually,” he added.

Nayar, who hails from Mumbai and has lot of experience of playing at the Wankhede, said they are hoping for a lucky break in the third Test. He said he is also looking forward to the three Mumbai guys in the team — Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan — doing well in the third Test.

“So for us, it’s more about self reflection and what we can do as a team. There’s always an advantage, but I always believe that what you’ve done in the past doesn’t really matter in the present. It’s about how you turn up on that particular day. So hopefully in the next few days is more about Sarfarazv and Yashasvi and all of us providing a lot of information to the group, which they already have, but adding a little more as to how you can get rid of these conditions,” said Nayar.

–IANS