The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will review the performance of its national men’s T20 team after a poor run that saw the world champions lose back-to-back series in Ireland and England, a top official said on Friday.
India crashed to a nine-wicket defeat in the fourth T20 against England on Thursday, handing the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead with one match remaining after the opener was dismissed.
The defeat was India’s fifth in a row, following a 2-0 series whitewash in Ireland last month.
After the England tour ends on July 19, the BCCI will meet to discuss the reasons for the team’s performance, secretary Devjit Saikia said.
Saikia, who is in Edinburgh for the International Cricket Council’s annual conference, told AFP by telephone that “the BCCI is currently looking into the performance of the Indian T20 team which did not perform well in the series against England”.
“We will hold a debriefing meeting with key members of the team to discuss what went wrong in England.”
The Indian team, which won the T20 World Cup in March, has suffered a dramatic dip in form. They scored 158-7 in Bristol on Thursday, a target England chased down by 9 wickets and over 6 overs.
Days after India were bowled out for just 76 runs in Nottingham, they suffered their heaviest T20 defeat by 125 runs.
Saikia described the decline as a temporary setback.
“This is not unusual and can happen in international cricket. We consider it a completely bad phase,” he said.
India, coached by Gautam Gambhir, are without pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya due to workload and injury-management concerns.
Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who made his long-awaited debut in 15 years, struggled to make an impact with 14, 13 and 15 runs in his three innings.
The teams meet in the fifth and final T20I in Southampton on Saturday ahead of the three-match ODI series.