Lalchand Rajput lays down UAE’s reason for heavy defeat, citing batsmen getting intimidated by India’s big names.
Batters were overawed by India’s big names, says UAE coach Lalchand Rajput.
Following a nine-wicket loss in their Asia Cup opener on Wednesday, UAE coach Lalchand Rajput claimed that his team was overwhelmed by India’s spin twins. With a combined score of 5 for 11 in 4.1 overs, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy helped the UAE reach their lowest T20I total of 57.
The rest of their hitters collapsed, failing to read Kuldeep both off the pitch and in the air, while openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem scored 41 of their 57 runs. When Varun bowled length deliveries onto the pitch, he caused them problems with the skid.
What Lalchand Rajput observed
“To be very honest, it wasn’t a turning track,” Rajput said. “It was a good wicket to bat on, but the skill level these bowlers have got, and especially the wristspinners, they will always turn on any type of wickets. And the way they were bowling, the length they were bowling [did the trick].”
“For our batsmen, to be very honest, they were playing [against this quality of spin] for the first time,” Rajput said. “They were overawed by India’s big names. We should have batted 20 overs. But nevertheless, I think this is a learning process for us.”
While taking stock of their defeat, Rajput said the team will be better for the experience. “See, this is a big platform for them,” he said. “It’s a learning process for our players as well. I’m sure these matches will give them a lot of confidence. We just have to move on from here.”
After just one defeat, Rajput didn’t want to be critical of his team. He emphasised how, in the just finished tri-series against Afghanistan and Pakistan, they had demonstrated respectable application against spin.
“We hardly got out to the spinners,” he said. “It was just one spinner that we got out and that was Abrar [Ahmed, Pakistan legspinner] in the second game [he picked up 4 for 9]. But we really played well in the tri-series. So yes, I think as I said earlier, these spinners are rare because wristspinners, like Varun Chakravarthy, even top players struggle against them.”
Focus on T20 WC qualification
Every Asia Cup match is an opportunity for the UAE to advance towards their immediate objective, which is to earn a spot in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka the following year. Rajput thought his side could bounce back from a devastating defeat fast because the Asian qualifiers are coming up right after this competition.
In light of this, the team made the decision to try out different players on their roster and give them an opportunity during their most recent tour, in which Uganda defeated them. Despite losing all four of their games, they had previously defeated Bangladesh 2-1 at home and closely contested Pakistan and Afghanistan in the tri-series.
“It’s a process that we always carry forward. And we were really looking forward to the Asia Cup because we qualified after a long time,” he said. “And then we beat Bangladesh, that was a very good series for us. Then we went to Uganda. It was a series where we tried some more players. We beat other teams, but lost to Uganda.
“The important thing for us is the T20 World Cup qualifier. We don’t have any much time in between. So Uganda was a series where we could try. And then the tri-series, we should have won a couple of games.
“But again, crossing the line, something the better teams always do, we came close but could not. But definitely the players have started believing in themselves. But still I feel that we are a much better team and you will see in the coming matches as well. I’m sure we’ll improve because from here we can’t go low down. We are only going to go up.”