London: Veteran London-based cricket broadcaster and writer Ashis Ray has called for “a calm introspection by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) into how India, with an investment in cricket 1,000 times that of New Zealand, can lose to the latter”.
He emphasised: “It should not be a witch-hunt, but an exploration into whether the BCCI can do anything better infrastructurally, managerially and policy-wise.”Ray is the author of “Cricket World Cup: The Indian Challenge”, which is a history of the competition from an Indian standpoint, published by Bloomsbury. Expanding on his criticism earlier in the tournament, Ray said: “Selection of the squad of 15 was flawed.””The neglect of the experienced Ajinkya Rahane was baffling,” he explained. Ray has also made the same point in his book. “In theory, with his technique, he (Rahane) would have been an ideal number four in the crisis India faced against New Zealand in the semifinal on Wednesday,” Ray said. “The omission of Rishab Pant in the original squad was another mistake. And two wrist spinners reduced the variety in the Indian bowling. Finger spinners, as Ravindra Jadeja’s performance proved, are always to be preferred in English conditions. he said. (IANS)
