India are on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup after falling to back to back defeats in the Super 4 stage. In both matches, India have had to tinker with their squad due to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja getting ruled out. They have brought in batting all-rounder Deepak Hooda to take up Jadeja’s place in the lower middle order in one of the finishing positions.
Hooda has scored just 3 and 16 runs in the two matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively. Veteran opener Robin Uthappa has said that India may be missing a trick by playing Hooda lower down the order considering he has found success playing in the top order in the past.
“You have to have horses or courses in the sense that you need to have players who play well in certain positions. What India have done in the last couple of games is they have brought in personnel who aren’t playing in their ideal positions. Deepak Hooda is not a finisher. He has not finished for Lucknow Super Giants or for India in the past,” said Uthappa on ESPNCricinfo.
“You throw him at the business end of a tournament like the Asia Cup at No.6 and No.7, you are just putting pressure on the player. He is a high quality who thrives in a certain position, make him play there,” he said.
Uthappa said that India have players to play in specific positions and are overthinking themselves out of the tournament. “We are trying to fix something that is not broken. We have overthought ourselves out of this. As much as you say you want to play a certain brand of cricket, there is a secret to the sauce and that is wickets in hand when you bat first. If you don’t have wickets towards the back end of the innings, you are always going to be under the pump,” he said.
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