On the eve of the second Test, India’s wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat said that the mood in the injury-hit Indian camp is “relaxed” while asserting that the home side has made fresh plans to deal with England’s attacking approach, including employing the sweep shot as and when required in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Bharat, who will be playing in front of his home crowd, said the team has worked on its shortcomings in the series-opener in which England staged a sensational comeback to win the game by 28 runs.
“In our team meetings we spoke about the things we could have done better and yes, we certainly have few plans. (We are) definitely looking at the way how they went about the first game, playing some reverse. That’s something we have definitely worked on,” Bharat said in the pre-match press conference.
In Hyderabad, Indian batters failed to counter England’s unfancied spin attack and were seen playing a lot of conventional and unconventional sweep shots in the two training sessions before the second Test. Does this mean that the home team will play more square of the wicket?
“Playing in India, we play a lot of cricket on these tracks. It’s not that we don’t know how to sweep, reverse sweep or pedal, but on that particular day depending on the situation of the team, we as batters take our calls,” Bharat said.
“And it is very clear to us to bat with freedom. We also practised in the reverse before the first game. But playing out in the centre, it’s the batters’ individual plan.
“If the team demands us to play in a certain way, then we are up to it,” said the 30-year-old who batted well in the second innings in Hyderabad before getting a beauty from debutant Tom Hartley.
Bharat also defended the effort of the Indian batters despite surrendering to the inexperienced Hartley in the opening Test.
“We don’t play the bowlers, we play the ball. On any given day, it can be experienced or inexperienced (bowler), there is nothing like inexperienced in cricket. On that particular day, if someone bowls well, you have to give credit to them,” he said.
“After the game, the atmosphere is absolutely relaxed. They told us not to panic, which we are not. But then the instruction is very clear, it’s a long Test series and we have played a lot of series like this in the past,” he added.