'They (the Indians) are going to town about the five-bowler theory. Where are the five bowlers? There is only one bowler that we have'
Bishen Singh Bedi has praised Ravichandran Ashwin for his consistent showing in the three matches but came down hard on the other bowlers.
"Ashwin did a very good job. For the first time I saw him bowl consistently well," said the spin legend, adding, "But, again, I would stress that the Lankans were a poor unit. I only saw one good knock from Angelo Mathews and that was it.
"They (the Indians) are going to town about the five-bowler theory. Where are the five bowlers? There is only one bowler that we have."
Ashwin finished with 21 wickets and was named the Player-of-the-series.
The left-arm spinner praised the Indian team but was cautious in his eulogy.
"Yes, this team looks good no doubt, but we need young wicket-taking bowlers. See bowlers like Amit Mishra; you can discuss in the present tense, but not in the future tense. It is a young man's game. But I don't wish to take anything away from him as he showed a fighting spirit while bowling and batting. Sadly, age is not on his side.
"This was a series where we had to groom and blood youngsters and we failed. And I am not willing to believe that we don't have young talent.
"First match, they played Harbhajan Singh; now the time is up for Mishra and Harbhajan."
Bedi also questioned the lack of a genuine all-rounder in the Indian team, saying talent spotting is not happening in national cricket.
"There is a massive question mark on (Stuart) Binny and the presence of an all-rounder in the team. Why did they keep Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the side? Remember, you have won; it doesn't mean that everything is OK. You have got to be very pragmatic and realistic," added the spin legend.
Also read:
- Should the TOSS be dumped in Test cricket?
