India have lost two semifinals under Ravi Shastri, so a change might be good, says Robin Singh

After submitting his application for the role of the head coach, the former Indian cricketer had some very interesting ideas to express regarding India’s World Cup campaign as a whole. He rightly noted that the team have played excellent cricket, but have faltered twice — thrice, if you include the Champions Trophy final debacle — when they got to the business end. 

“Under the current coach, India has lost in the semifinals of two successive ODI World Cups, and in the last four stage of the World Twenty20 championship as well. Now is the time to prepare for the 2023 World Cup and a change could be good for the side,” Robin told The Hindu.

Robin’s approach to a match, as a coach sitting in the dressing room, had some very intriguing connotations.

“You got to transport yourself mentally into the game, put yourself in situations that the team and the players face, be a part of the moves, get into the players’ mind. You can do this, only if you understand the game technically,” Robin said. 

Further probing on how he would’ve handled the India-New Zealand clash revealed even more thought-provoking answers. The 55-year-old said he’d have held back Kohli, after witnessing what the new ball was doing — which meant picking Mayank Agarwal to bat at the top.

"With the ball moving around and India losing Rohit Sharma early, I would have held back Virat Kohli to the No. 4 slot. M.S. Dhoni would have been No. 5 and he would have got more time. Kohli and Dhoni could have batted together. Then, we could have had the three power hitters, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja coming in,” Robin added.

The former India fielding coach also noted that he’d have stuck with the experienced duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu for the no.4 spot, and played Mohammed Shami instead of the second spinner against New Zealand.