Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt talked about the struggles of the Indian team in the recently concluded ODI series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. He said that head coach Gautam Gambhir should've used Suryakumar Yadav in the series as he tackles spins very well. 

The struggles of the Indian batters against spinners in the recently concluded ODI series against Sri Lanka have become the main talking point. This is because the Rohit Sharma-led side, who usually are touted as good players of spin, looked clueless in the three games. 

Apart from India captain Rohit Sharma, other batters didn't look settled on the Colombo pitch as they all fell to spinners. Big names like Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and others had no idea how to react and in all the games, spin brought the downfall of the India National Cricket Team. 

India batters looked stuck on the crease and no one apart from skipper Rohit Sharma attempted sweeps. The rest of the batters were caught on the crease and were either bowled or got trapped in lbw. Their poor batting against spin saw India lose the ODI series against Sri Lanka for the first time since 1997. 

Salman Butt believes that India needs to re-strategize the way of playing against spinners. He stressed that Gautam Gambhir should've kept Suryakumar Yadav in the team as the batter is very strong against spin. Salman Butt also said that India missed the trick by not playing T20I captain. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt explained: 

"I think India needs to think against spin bowling. They need to re-strategize the ways of playing spinners. I think they were excellent at it. But recently, they haven't been up to the mark. I think Gautam Gambhir should have used Suryakumar Yadav in the series. He dominates spinners and his sweep shots are very strong. And spinners whose ball goes on both sides and they don't even get picked on the spinning tracks at times. 

"So, the sweep becomes a very important option. I don't think the other players sweep as well as Suryakumar Yadav does. So, I think India has missed that trick by not letting Suryakumar Yadav play in this series. And, Sri Lankan spinners have bowled well." 

It's a good wake-up call, even for a team like India - Salman Butt's massive claim 

Salman Butt further credited Sri Lanka National Cricket Team for their exceptional performances and said that it's a good wake-up call for India. He also stated that Men in Blue needs to apply the idea of horses for courses. He explained: 

"And they have taken the series. They have beaten the world champions in all departments. Credit to Sri Lanka. And at times, it's a good wake-up call even for a team like India. They were all good and happy before the tour. Now, they have something to think about.  

"And the new coach will have to think about certain things. Like who should be played where. Horses for courses. This middle order against spin bowling in spinning conditions. It looked vulnerable," Salman Butt concluded.