Mumbai, Dec.6: Ahead of the fourth Test, starting here from Thursday, India coach Anil Kumble on Tuesday said he is happy with the outcomes from the Decision Review System (DRS) so far in the ongoing series against England.
“It (DRS) has been really good, it has been an experiment that has been happening in the series, but overall players have been very satisfied with the outcome,” said Kumble.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of scorekeeping which team has done better. It’s a matter of whether we have got a decision right and we have done that in the last three Tests.”
On India’s forced shuffling of their opening combination multiple times in the series against England due to injuries, Kumble said, “Ya that’s not in our control. Injuries are part and parcel of the game and unfortunately (KL) Rahul got hit. Parthiv (Patel) came in the last game and did a fantastic job at the top. I am sure Rahul will have a hit today and should be fine,” the legendary leg-spinner added.“For New Zealand also we had three different opening pairs. In West Indies too (Murali) Vijay got injured, then Shikhar was injured against New Zealand, then Gautam (Gambhir) had that freak injury in Indore but he could bat so there is something happening with the openers in terms of injury. Hope that it doesn’t go on.”
Kumble said he doesn’t mind having a chat with National Cricket Academy (NCA) director and former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar on this issue.
“So as a coach and as part of the coaching staff I would like to have a chat with Dilip (Vengsarkar, NCA director) since we are in Mumbai and with the injuries that we have had have been hamstring injuries which is common not just in cricket but in any sport,” he said.
“And it’s all been cricketing injuries. Unfortunately Hardik (Pandya) got injured by a ball in the nets. Otherwise Rahul got hit while he was fielding at short leg, vijay got hit while he was batting. So did Shikhar. So it’s something that you have to live with.”
“The good part is people who have come in have been really good. Parthiv came in after eight years and didn’t show the nerves you would expect although he is a seasoned campaigner. He came in, he was asked to open and did brilliantly and kept wickets well too. We are in a good space,” Kumble added.
The coach also heaped praise on the pace duo Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.
“The two fast bowlers have been brilliant right throughout since the time I have comeback in as a coach. It’s not just two of them, but Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and Ishant (Sharma), all of them have contributed significantly. And to have some one like them sitting out is a credit to how Umesh and Shami have bowled.”
“We keep a track of workload, especially with fast bowlers. And if we feel we need to pullback on a certain player like we have done in the past, we will,” he 46-year-old said.
“It’s a challenge that we have to play Tests with 4-5 days gap. Especially this series where every test has been five-day affairs. What is really creditable is the way they have bowled in the last hour of the day, coming back in the third spell or sometimes in the fourth spell.”
On the lower order batting so well for India with three spinners in Jayant Yadav, R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja all notching up half-centuries, Kumble said: “Contributions from every player in the team is important. If you look at all good teams, and if you want to be the No. 1 team, its important that every player in the playing XI contributes and keep raising the benchmark.”
“I was really pleased with the three spinners in the last Test match when they got those fifties under pressure,” he concluded.
India lead the five-match series 2-0.
