New Delhi: Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar minced no words to hit out at Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir and superstars including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after New Zealand whitewashed the home side for the first time in a 3-match Test series.
One of the talking points of the just concluded India-New Zealand Test series was how some of the senior members of the home team were back to the grind of five-day format without proper preparations to face the Kiwis.
Gavaskar gave the example of Sachin Tendulkar to highlight how the batting maestro made gruelling preparations to take on his adversaries at the ground.
“That’s the reason why Sachin Tendulkar was Sachin Tendulkar. He was so fiercely proud of what he could do and what he wanted to do for the team. Don’t forget the 200 at the Brabourne Stadium for Ranji champions Mumbai and the visiting Australian team,” he said, adding that Tendulkar had special sessions with leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan to prepare for his epic duels with spin wizard Shane Warne.
“… So, I think that is the kind of preparation that everybody needs to do. If you don’t do it then with the gaps that are there will always be that little body speed and back speed situation, which takes a long time to get back.
“So it is not just in cricket. It is in any sport. You look at tennis, those who are in their thirties and then they suddenly take a break. If it’s an injury break, it’s even worse. But if it’s not an injury break, it’s just to refresh themselves when they come back. It’s very, very difficult to win tournaments after that,” the World Cup winner said.
Ahead of India’s home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, top players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah had reportedly declined to participate in the Duleep Trophy, citing “lack of motivation,” despite initially agreeing to play. Their withdrawal led the selection committee to release Ravindra Jadeja, who had committed to playing in the domestic tournament, the reports suggested.
Though this damning result did no favour to Gambhir, who took over as the coach in July, his start had begun on a jarring note, as India lost an One Day International (ODI) series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years.
“Well, I think, when a loss happens, then obviously you look, you know, as everything. You know, you look at where the buck stops and the buck has to stop with the captain and the coach more than anything else. But it’s early days for the coach. What I think is that, while the results speak for themselves because for the first time, we lost in Sri Lanka as well. And now this, you know, lost to New Zealand. Unless things improve in Australia, questions will definitely be asked and harder questions than what you are asking now,” Gavaskar told India Today in an exclusive interview.
The team will be travelling Down Under for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The five Test series against the Aussies will begin 22 November at Perth.
He then called out for the team to take on collective responsibility for India’s tactical errors, refraining from singling out individual leaders.
“Well, I think every team has a think tank. Probably the captain, vice-captain and the coach — these are the guys who take the decisions. That’s how it goes. Sometimes, the captain makes snap decisions at the last moment. Maybe, he will decide to promote someone to bat higher up the order. If it works out, it becomes a great decision. If it doesn’t work out, it looks bad. I think these decisions would have been taken by the think tank,” he added.
Sending an in-form Sarfaraz Khan to bat at number eight in Mumbai was slammed by several past cricketers. Khan lasted barely four deliveries at Wankhede Stadium, as he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the Mumbai Test.
Batting stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s batting struggles worsened against New Zealand even as India had swept aside Bangladesh 2-0 in the previous Test series. While the Indian captain managed only 91 runs at 15.16 average in the recent Test series against New Zealand, with a lone notable contribution of 52 runs in Bengaluru, Virat Kohli managed 93 runs at 15.50 average.
Weighing in on the struggles of the batting duo, Gavaskar noted, “A bad patch comes to everybody… But, how you come back from those bad patches tells how good a player you are. What we are going to see in Australia will determine the future of the Test team. Definitely yes. If they don’t score runs in Australia, there will be a clamour for a new-look Indian team.”
Gavaskar also described India’s recent batting performance as potentially the worst at home. “You could say that, because when you look back, there have been similar instances where India’s batting has collapsed,” he added.
The former India captain noted that the team’s strong second-innings showing in Bengaluru, where they scored over 400 runs, had suggested they had overcome their early struggles. However, he struggled to understand what went wrong in the subsequent four innings, played in Pune and Mumbai. “And that is the reason why the subsequent four innings… it’s hard to understand what went wrong.”
He also then tempered expectations for India’s upcoming Test series in Australia.
“India cannot beat Australia 4-0, I’d be over the moon if they do. But 4-0… don’t talk about the World Test Championship final. Just focus on winning the series. Never mind whether it’s 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, or 2-1. But go and win. That’s how Indian cricket fans will start feeling good again,” Gavaskar said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)