Indians under pressure, playing for careers, admits assistant coach Sanjay Bangar

The recent thrashing by England in the ongoing Test series has brought the team India and especially the Indian batsmen under the scanner. Barring Virat Kohli, every Indian batsman is receiving heavy criticism from all corners for their abysmal show in England.

India’s assistant coach Sanjay Bangar admitted that this lack of performance has put Indian batsmen under pressure. He also said that Indian batsmen are now playing for their careers.

Bangar made this statement while speaking with the media after the first day of the third Test. The assistant coach of the Indian team accepted the fact that the performance of the team in the recent times has certainly put tremendous pressure but the team is focusing on discipline and other aspects.

There was also some criticism on the support staff as several former players questioned the role played by the support staff. However, Bangar denied claims of any added pressure and said handling pressure is a part and parcel of any professional’s job and added that all they can do as the support staff is to offer help and strategize plans for the team.

The current crop of batsmen in India’s team have played a significant amount of cricket but except some shining performances in the sub-continent, they have failed to score consistently in the overseas conditions. Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara haven’t scored a hundred in the last five overseas Tests and this fact has attracted a lot of criticism. But Bangar believed that the team has done well to bounce back in the third Test and has shown more discipline.

At the same time Bangar was content with Team India’s improved performance in the third Test. He said the start given by KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan was very important for the team and it came out the way they expected. He also lauded Ajinkya Rahane’s contribution.