After the loss in WTC 2021-23 final against Australia, Sunil Gavaskar is upset with Captain Rohit Sharma and Coach Rahul Dravid. Sunil Gavaskar had high hopes from skipper Rohit Sharma after he took over test captaincy from Virat Kohli in February last year.
Loss in WTC Final, failure to qualify in the T20 world cup final, and poor performance in the South Africa test series had disappointed Sunil Gavaskar. He also asked for more accountability for coach Rahul Dravid and his coaching team.
India should be asking questions….- Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar was having an interaction with Indian Express and was upset with Rohit Sharma’s decision of fielding first in the WTC final after winning the toss amid the cloudy conditions. He also stated that the team was not prepared for the Australian players, and stated that they could analyze Travis Head’s weakness against the short ball.
“I expected more from him (Rohit Sharma). In India it is different, but when you do well overseas that is really the test. That is where he has been a little disappointing. Even in the T20 format, with all the experience of the IPL, hundreds of matches as captain, with a mix of best IPL players not being able to get to the finals has been disappointing,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
“They should be asking questions, ‘Why did you field first?’ 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?’ Why was the bouncer employed only when he had scored 80 runs. You know, the moment Head came in to bat, in the commentary box, we had Ricky Ponting saying, ‘Bounce him, bounce him.’ Everyone knew about it but we didn’t try,” he added.
If the batters are making the same mistakes over and over again then….- Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar blames senior players for not playing up to their standards, reluctance as their spots are safe. Sunil Gavaskar also hinted batters to improve their batting techniques saying that the batsmen are making same mistakes and throwing their wickets.
“What kind of preparation are we talking about? Now they have gone to the West Indies. You have the example of the World Test Championship before you. Are you playing any matches? So what is this talk about 20-25 days? … When you talk about preparation, be genuine about it,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
“Go 15 days before, play two warm-up matches. The main guys can rest, but the fringe players might be actually challenging those who are not doing well. He does not get an opportunity to show that he is good enough,” he stated.
“The truth is the main guys do not want to go early. Because they know that come what may, they will get selected. And when you go early they will talk about the workload. You call yourself the fittest team in the world or fitter than the early generations then how do you break down so soon? How do you have a workload issue when you play a 20-over game?” he added.
“If the batters are making the same mistakes over and over again, you need to ask what has happened with your technique. How have you tried to improve the batter? Have you tried to tell him, maybe take a different guard. Don’t take a leg-stump guard, take a middle and off stump guard,” he concluded