"We have played this game in second gear" - Former cricketer slams India for below par effort in Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman

Former cricketer Rohan Gavaskar lashed out at the Indian team for a substandard effort in their Asia Cup 2025 game against Oman on Friday, September 19. The Men In Blue won by 21 runs, but did not dominate as one would have expected.

They put up 188/8 on the board after batting first. Abhishek made 38 runs off 15 balls while Sanju Samson scored 56 runs off 45 deliveries. While defending the total, they used eight bowlers, including Abhishek and Tilak Varma.

India could pick only four wickets as Oman ended on 167/4. Gavaskar implied that the team was complacent and played in second gear.

"When you are a bench player and not a certainty in the XI, and you come up against a team like Oman, you have got to be picking up wickets. Don't care what the others are doing and play for more matches. If you don't look threatening or wicket-taking, then that is a problem. You can play in second gear. We have played this game in second gear," he said on Cricbuzz. (2:48)

Suryakumar Yadav did not bat, promoting the likes of Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh. Looking at the batting order and the bowling, Gavaskar reckoned that India did not take the game seriously. Notably, they had already qualified for the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2025 before this clash.

"Tilak Varma bowled, Abhishek Sharma bowled, so it showed that they didn't take the game seriously. The batting order was such that Suryakumar did not bat. They have not taken the game seriously but the bowling also did not. But the main bowlers will be thinking these Oman batters were 20 short of what would have been a historical victory for them," he added. (5:04)

Further, the former cricketer stated that India could not get away with giving the excuse of looking to experiment in this game. He believed that the margin of victory should have been better, irrespective of any experiments.

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"The Indian coaching staff looked disappointed" - Rohan Gavaskar after Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman

Rohan Gavaskar also reflected that the Indian coaching staff appeared disappointed after the win over Oman in the Asia Cup 2025 match. It was not a satisfying victory for the Men In Blue. He reckoned that India's approach raised more questions despite the result.

"What happens in a game like this is, when the camera was panning towards the dugout, the expressions and the body language of the coaching staff, they looked a bit disappointed. They weren't happy, cheery faces even though they were experimenting. The Indian coaching staff looked disappointed. In a sense, maybe because India has played this game in second gear, we won this game as we should, but it has raised more questions than given you answers," he said. (6:21)

The former cricketer also felt that India's approach would have been different if this had been an important game for them. He stated that the decision to bat first after winning the toss itself showed that the mindset was to play in second gear.

Suryakumar Yadav and his troops will begin the journey in the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four stage against Pakistan on Sunday, September 21. They will then play Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Notably, they are the defending champions, having won the Asia Cup 2023 edition.