Sunil Gavaskar, one of cricket’s greatest players, has criticised Team India for skipping a mandatory practise session before their T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday. Sunil Gavaskar was furious with the Indian cricket team’s decision-makers, notably captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, for calling their Friday practise “optional,” particularly given the rainy weather predictions for Saturday and Sunday.
Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar opted to stay indoors and out of the nets, while skipper Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj were spotted practising there.
The Pakistani team, on the other hand, showed out in full force for their training session, with Babar Azam and his teammates working out hard on the pitch in Melbourne on Friday.
“I don t know what it tells you but it s something that I don t agree with. I don t agree with it for the simple reason that, at the start of the tournament, when you had your match (warm-up match) washed out, when you have come to Melbourne and had a day off, and then the next day, you opt not to practice?” Sunil Gavaskar said.
“At the end of the day, those who didn t come out for practice can turn out to be match-winners. But you want a rhythm going as a team. You want to see a sense of purpose,” Sunil Gavaskar noted.
“Giving an option is something I believe only the captain and the coach should be doing. Say, if you scored a hundred in the previous game and you have a small niggle, the captain and the coach can give you the option of not practicing and say if you don t want to come to practice, it s fine . Similarly with a bowler, who has bowled maybe 20-30 overs and feeling a sore shoulder or something, then the captain and the coach can give that bowler the option of not coming for training,” the 73-year-old retired Indian cricketer mentioned.
“Giving the option to the players is a no-no. There never ever should be that option. Only the captain and the coach should be taking that call. How many times it has affected Indian cricket is unbelievable.”
“At the start of the tournament? In the middle of the tournament, you are on a roll, you have done really well, you give everybody a break. You go to a cinema, go wherever to take their mind off cricket. But at the start of the tournament, optional practice?”
“Maybe on the eve of the match, they might all turn up (for practice). But that’s not it. I want to show that solidarity of purpose ‘look we want to win. Tomorrow if it rains, what happens? Your practice is gone,” a fuming Sunil Gavaskar summed up.
Sunil Gavaskar had made a significant declaration regarding Team India’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup in Australia.
The renowned hitter claims that the current Indian cricket squad, captained by Rohit Sharma, has generated positive talk about it throughout the world and is among the favourites to win the coveted tournament Down Under despite the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Sunil Gavaskar also emphasised that while Team India hasn’t had much success in international competitions, they’ve maintained their dominance in white-ball cricket and have triumphed in a number of bilateral series against strong opponents like South Africa, Australia, and England.
He believes India would be a difficult team to face at the T20 World Cup in Australia and will have a strong chance of ending their 15-year trophy drought in the prestigious event. The legendary MS Dhoni led India to its most recent T20 World Cup victory in 2007 in South Africa.
“One thing for sure. If the Indian team does not win this T20 World Cup it won’t be for lack of preparation. Not only have they gone to Australia almost three weeks before their first game of the tournament, they are also playing practice games against good sides that should get them ready for the tournament. The old saying, ‘if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail’ will not apply to this Indian team as, apart from these games in Australia, they also played six T20 matches at home and won four out of those to show that they are tuning in nicely for the big event,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Indian newspaper Mid-Day.
“India’s performance in the white ball bilaterals has always been good, be it at home or overseas, but it’s in the multilateral events that they have been stumbling. In the past it’s been because they have come cold into the event. But that isn’t the case this time around and that’s why, with a terrific blend of youth and experience, there’s optimism among Indian cricket fans that the Cup should be coming home. Yes, the other teams have also been playing practice games and that should hold them in good stead, but there’s a buzz about this Indian team despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
Sunil Gavaskar criticises Rohit Sharma and company for this reason. This article originally appeared on ClutchPoints.
