WI vs IND 2023: T20I series loss will surely dent India’s confidence – Salman Butt

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt reckons T20I series loss against the West Indies will surely dent India’s confidence for the upcoming matches. India backed a young team for the five-match series but they could not grab their opportunities.

The visitors lost the first two matches of the series but did well to bounce back and win the next two games to level the series. But, the Hardik Pandya-led team lost the deciding T20I by eight wickets in Florida on Sunday and it was their first five-match T20I series loss against the Windies.

Butt, who used to open the innings for Pakistan, said winning always boosts the team’s confidence whereas losing always takes a toll on the side. However, there were some positives for the Indian team with youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, and Tilak Varma grabbing their chances and there were a lot of learnings too.

“It doesn’t matter what the format is or who the opposition is. Winning does boost a side’s confidence for their next assignment. Similarly, a defeat like this will surely dent India’s confidence. You might not see it in the interviews, but you will see it in the body language and decision-making,” Butt told in his latest YouTube video.

“Many would say that it was a T20I series, and several of India’s top players were missing. But at the same time, this is India’s normal practice. It wasn’t the first time that a young side was picked. It also wasn’t that West Indies are a very big team, and it was very difficult for India to beat them,” he added.

India was not at its best in the T20I series, especially with the bat and it led to their downfall. The team looked over-reliant on the shoulders of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma as the other batters failed to score consistently.

India will next take on Ireland in three-match T20I series.