'Jab upar wala akal baant rha tha toh...' - Former Pakistan player rips apart Rahul Dravid, raises questions on his coaching skills

Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali slammed the Indian team for their subpar performance so far in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final match against Australia. In the first innings, the Rohit Sharma-led team played poorly with the ball, and in the batting order during the major contest, the top order once again struggled. 

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Notably, Australia is in the lead at Stumps on Day 3 by 296 runs, making any form of a comeback by team India in the final two days exceedingly challenging. Ali believes that India lost the match the moment they chose to bowl first. He even stated the Indian bowlers bowled like they were playing in IPL.

"India lost the match the moment they chose to bowl worrying about the first two hours. And the kind of bowling that was on display was just like IPL. By lunch, the Indian bowlers appeared so happy as if they'd won the match. All India can do now is hope to get them out cheaply and hope for a miracle in the fourth innings. During the 120 overs that India fielded, I could see only 2-3 players being fit - Rahane, Kohli, and Jadeja. The rest looked tired," Ali was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

God knows what Rahul was thinking: Basit Ali

The 52-year-old was harsh in his assessment of India's head coach Rahul Dravid as a coach. He also questioned the type of wickets that India had lately set up at home for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"I am a huge Rahul Dravid fan, have always been and will remain. He is a class player, a legend. But as a coach, he is absolutely zero. You are prepared to turn pitches on India. Just answer me this. When India travelled to Australia, were there similar wickets? They had bouncy pitches, right? . Jab upar wala akal baant raha tha toh pata nahi kaha pahaado ke peeche chhupe huye thhe (God knows where he was when god was distributing brains)," said Ali.