NEW DELHI: Former India batter Ambati Rayudu has admitted he was “not really surprised” by India’s stunning 0-2 T20I series defeat to Ireland, saying the reigning world champions were simply not prepared for the vastly different conditions after the high-scoring Indian Premier League season.India, led by Shreyas Iyer, suffered a historic series whitewash after losing the second T20I by one run in Belfast, with their batters struggling to adapt to the slow, two-paced surfaces.“No, I’m not really surprised because I don’t think they were prepared well enough for the conditions that they have encountered,” Rayudu told PTI. “It’s always very, very difficult to go from really flat tracks to slightly spongy wickets which have some lateral movement as well.”The former India international felt the transition from batting-friendly IPL pitches to testing conditions in Ireland exposed technical shortcomings within the batting unit.“Most of the guys are so used to having these really fast bat-swings, the in-between game and the control of the down-swing is a major concern,” the 40-year-old explained.
Rayudu identifies Tilak’s challenge, urges patience with Sooryavanshi
Rayudu also highlighted an area that India vice-captain Tilak Varma needs to improve despite his fighting 55 in the second T20I.“More than his mental approach, his game against slow bowling on slow surfaces has been kind of a struggle for a while,” Rayudu said. “Whenever he encounters wickets on which the ball does not really come on to the bat, that is where we have seen him struggle a little bit to up the tempo.”According to Rayudu, Tilak’s reluctance to use his feet against spin limits his scoring options on slower tracks.“Against spinners, he likes to access the square boundaries a lot more… he doesn’t use his feet as much. He doesn’t sweep on the pitch of the ball and there are a lot of shots that he does not play in a conventional manner. If he improves that side of his game, raising the tempo will be secondary, a by-product of that,” he explained.The former Chennai Super Kings batter also weighed in on the growing calls for 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to make his India debut after being left out of both matches against Ireland.“It’s always good to go with your seasoned openers who have done really well (and) have won the World Cup. Giving them the first go, ample opportunities is very, very important,” Rayudu said.“He is experiencing what the Indian team dressing room is like, what to expect, what must be his role. So, there are so many things that he’ll be learning on this tour, which will eventually help him. But I wouldn’t really rush to get him in a bilateral just because we didn’t win a couple of games,” he added.Despite India’s disappointing results, Rayudu believes the upcoming five-match T20I series in England will present an entirely different challenge.“I wouldn’t really read much into it because going into England, those wickets are far, far better than what they have encountered here,” he said, expressing confidence that the conditions would better suit India’s batting style.
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