Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin called out Team India’s casual and lackluster approach on Day 5 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo. The Shubman Gill-led side needed four wickets on the final day after enforcing the follow-on, but had to settle for a draw in the end.
Sri Lanka began the day with just a 16-run lead, but fought back by not losing a single wicket in the first session, stretching the lead to 116. Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha put on 112 runs off 242 deliveries for the seventh wicket, keeping India at bay.
Although Manav Suthar broke the stand right after the lunch break, India had to deal with another resistance from Lahiru Kumara. The tail-ender played 90 deliveries for his 12 runs and prolonged India’s frustration. The visitors only picked up three wickets on Day 5, before the match was adjudged a draw.
Sri Lanka batted 154 overs to score 429-9 in the second innings, extending the lead to 216 runs before both sides shook hands with only an hour’s play left in the match.
Ashwin remarked that Team India was complacent and was waiting for the wickets to fall rather than being proactive on the field, while also questioning the decision to enforce the follow-on.
“I know, I understand, there was threat by the weather a bit. But somewhere I get this feeling that the mentality was like, ‘Chalo game khatam karo hum nikal jayenge’ (Let’s get this game over quick, they will be out and then we will go). Enforcing follow on is out of trend a little bit. Once you bowl 25 overs, your effectiveness will not be that much, a bowler is not a machine, even they get tired,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“I had a feeling that they took it slightly easier, because they had bowled almost 90 overs in the first innings as well. So, that is not an ordinary spell. If you had bowled them out for 50-60 overs, then I can understand, but that was not the case. So I feel that India took it lightly. So enforcing the follow on, I don’t think it was the right approach,” he added.
Team India eventually had to be on the field for 243.4 overs in hot and humid conditions, and it certainly took a toll on the players. Mohammed Siraj’s pace drastically dropped as the contest progressed, while Ravindra Jadeja went off the field due to a heel injury.
“You could see from the body language” – R Ashwin blasts Team India’s complacency during SL vs IND 2026 2nd Test
R Ashwin noted that not enforcing the follow-on, and batting for even just a session would have made a difference as the refreshed bowlers would have had a shot against tired Sri Lankan batters.
“I accept that when there is threat of rain you have to take such a decision, but I have a feeling that a conversation might have happened and you could see from the body language that they thought Sri Lanka will be bowled out. Even batting for one, or one and a half sessions with a good run rate, bringing them back into the field could have made a difference,” Ashwin added.
Team India missed out on the chance to close in on the fourth spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings after the drawn Test in Colombo. Shubman Gill and co. have to rack up wins in the remaining matches in the cycle against heavyweights New Zealand and Australia to be in contention for the final.
Edited by Gokul Nair