Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has hit back at critics for targeting only the bowlers after India’s defeat to England in the first Test at Leeds, where they failed to defend a 370-run total in the fourth innings.

The veteran off-spinner pointed out that while experts and commentators were quick to blame the bowlers, little attention was given to the batters, who failed to post above-average totals on batting-friendly surfaces. Despite five individual centuries across both innings, India suffered lower-order collapses and paid the price.

“Once 370 was chased down (in the first Test), I thought the commentary became a diss about the Indian bowlers. I felt that the narrative built was pointing towards how Indian bowlers failed to win the match. But with a little homework, many would have realised that in England, scores have been consistently chased down in 4th innings,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Batters should take up responsibility. I know batsmen are making runs. Yes, we had five centurions, but where are the daddy hundreds? We have to resign to the fact that there would be no contribution (with the bat) from the lower order. Our fast bowlers cannot bat, they cannot muster runs,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin also emphasised that Indian bowlers, apart from Jasprit Bumrah, need to prioritise control and economy rather than solely focusing on taking wickets at the cost of conceding runs.

“In Tests, I think maidens are quite underrated. Ideally, I would be okay with Bumrah going for a higher economy rate, but others should go low. I saw a show where someone said Siraj was unlucky to not be among wickets. I do agree he bowled well in the second innings, but the economy rate, you can’t let go and hope that things fall in place. In Tests, you have to build your bowling gradually from Day 1, and the rewards will come in the final innings,” Ashwin highlighted.

“If you give away a lot of runs in the first innings, you tend to get conservative to stem the flow, and you won’t get wickets in this approach. If I was Morkel, I would tell the other bowlers not to do much since Bumrah is there. As the old saying goes, bowl three maidens, and you will get a wicket. Don’t you think a wicket would fall after three maidens in a row against this England side? Against this side, if you are giving two runs an over, it is as good as bowling a maiden,” he added.