“It’s not in his control” - Ravi Shastri opens up on the reasons behind India’s Leeds Test defeat

Former Indian team head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri has revealed that the dropped catches and the lower-order batting collapse in both innings of the Leeds Test were the key reasons behind India’s defeat to England.

As many as eight catches were dropped by the Indian fielders in the Leeds Test, while they staged major collapses twice in both innings, which turned out to be the game changer for India despite setting 371 runs as the target for England in the fourth innings.

"This will be a tough pill for India to swallow. You don't get in positions like this very often, and blow it from there. They had a chance to take England out of the contest and dictate terms. They have to learn and they need more bottle from the tail, for them to be stubborn and put a price tag on their wicket," Shastri told Sky Sports.

"I think (there is) a big role of the coaching staff. Take the positives out of the contest. As a captain, he (Shubman Gill) has done more than what can be asked of him. He got a hundred; there were five hundreds scored in the game. If anything, you want the basics to be done better. There are things that are out of his control,” he added.

Interestingly, Gill, the Indian captain, who faced severe criticism, has been backed by Shastri. He asserted that whatever is in the captain’s control has been handled by him. Furthermore, Shastri also hailed Gill for his century. 

"Dropping catches is not in his control. That's where the team as a unit can work harder and get better. Similarly, when you come to bat, you've got to put a price tag on your wicket. You can't come out and blow a situation where you can get about 550-600 by just being timid and meek,” he observed.

"These are the areas where you've got to be hard at times as a coach, really hard in that dressing room. There are certain things where you tick off a few guys. But, there were a lot of positives in this Test," he concluded.

Team India will cross swords with England in the second Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday, July 2.

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