“Stop thinking about the IPL and think about the country” - Danish Kaneria’s advice to Indian players after loss to Bangladesh

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has advised Team India players to shift their focus away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and concentrate more on playing for the country. According to Kaneria, unless the Men in Blue get their priorities in order, poor results such as the ODI series loss in Bangladesh will continue.

Team India went down to Bangladesh by five runs in the second ODI in Dhaka on Wednesday, December 7. Chasing 272, they were held to 266/9 despite half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (82), Axar Patel (56), and skipper Rohit Sharma (51*).

The Men in Blue had earlier lost the first fixture by one wicket, thereby conceding the three-match series with a game to spare.

Sharing his thoughts on Team India’s disappointing performance in Bangladesh, Kaneria said on his YouTube channel:

“Stop thinking about the IPL and think about the country. Indian cricket is most important, not franchise cricket. There is money in franchise cricket, but you can earn money from international cricket as well. Unless and until you start giving importance to international cricket, these kinds of results will continue.”

India’s loss to Bangladesh on Wednesday was their second successive ODI series defeat in the country. They went down 1-2 during their previous visit in 2015 as well under MS Dhoni.

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“Due to innumerable changes, this Indian team has disintegrated” - Danish Kaneria

Dissecting Team India’s woes in recent times, Kaneria blamed the management for constant changes, which have fragmented the side. He explained:

“Due to innumerable changes, this Indian team has disintegrated. Players who were in form were rested. Those who were not in form kept playing. This team is broken or rather has been broken and that too very badly.

“Batters are not sure of their position because they have been asked to bat at various positions over the last few months. The bowling attack has kept changing. There has been no proper planning or execution. I don’t even think there is a plan in place. Indian cricket has gone down and Bangladesh have got a very good chance of winning the Test matches as well.”

The third ODI between India and Bangladesh will be played in Chattogram on Saturday, December 10. This will be followed by a two-Test series.