India was handed another heartbreaking loss in the knockouts of the ICC Tournaments when they were handed a 209-run loss of the hand of Australia in the recently concluded World Test Championship final. Sunil Gavaskar was quite furious on the management for the tactics. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that the tactics for Travis Head were quite questionable.
Sunil Gavaskar slammed Team India’s think tank over a few questionable decisions, resulting in India’s loss at the final hurdle. From choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, to not playing Ravi Ashwin – India’s highest wicket-taker in the WTC cycle, there are multiple choices for which the management needs to be accountable.
Why was the bouncer employed only when Head had scored 80 runs? – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar sat down to have a chat with the media and slammed the management for its poor tactics in the finals. Gavaskar questioned the choice of not employing the bouncer barrage against Travis Head when he initially came to bat, as this gave him time to settle and later score freely.
‘Why did you field first (at WTC final)? Okay, it was explained at the toss that it was overcast and all. The question after that should be, you didn’t know about Travis Head’s weakness against the short ball?” said Sunil Gavaskar.
According to a stat by Cricviz, only 20 percent of the first 30 deliveries bowled to Head on Day one were short balls, he went on to score a match-winning 163 and registered the highest partnership for the fourth wicket in a summit clash with Steve Smith.
Everyone knew about it but we didn’t try – Sunil Gavaskar
The former Indian opener pointed out that this was not an isolated incident, and has been repeated by Indian captains over the years resulting in major defeats. He urged the BCCI to demand more accountability from the captain and coach for such decisions.
“Why was the bouncer employed only when he had scored 80 runs? You know, the moment Head came into the bat, in the commentary box, we had Ricky Ponting saying, ‘Bounce him, bounce him.’ said Sunil Gavaskar.
“That kind of thing doesn’t happen. Whether you win or lose, the captain knows that he is going to be there. This has not been a recent case, mind you. This has been happening since 2011. There have been results where we have been wiped out in the series 0-4, 0-4 but the captain hasn’t changed,” he added.
Read More: IND vs WI: I Expected More From Rohit Sharma- Sunil Gavaskar Takes A Unique Stance