Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill Not Spared As Sanjay Manjrekar Tears Into India's Batting Unit After Pune Defeat

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed dissapointment with Team India's batting during their shambolic loss to New Zealand in the second Test at Pune, which led to the hosts' first-ever series loss at home in 12 years. Indian batters got the taste of their own medicine as the Kiwi spin attack led by Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets in the match, trapped the hosts in their own spin trap and defeated India by 113 runs to secure the series 2-0 with a game to go.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that he felt India could pull off a surprise when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill had a partnership going on but remarked that the latter does not have a "feel for spinners" and feels pressure while playing them on turning pitches.

"When Yashasvi and Shubman were going together, I thought that there would be a surprise around the corner. Shubman Gill clearly does not have the feel for spinners. You know batters, who can work with their footwork instinctively, he clearly is under pressure when he is playing spinners on turning pitches," Manjrekar said.

Manjrekar also said that star batter Virat Kohli once again misread the length of Santner's delivery and skipper Rohit Sharma felt underconfident on the crease against spin. He feels that the top three of India's top four are short of confidence against spin. He feels India should have backed their defence more and not lost early wickets.

"Virat Kohli once again misread the length. The ball was much fuller than he anticipated and came back into him sharply. Rohit Sharma was not confident at the crease. There are a lot of guys, top 3 out of 4 who are short of confidence against spin. On pitches like these, you see that it is difficult to bat vs spin in first