Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hold off on making fast judgements in light of the team’s disappointing performance in the just concluded Twenty20 International series against England and Ireland.
According to reports, the BCCI will hold a review meeting to assess India’s performance in the UK and discuss any necessary changes. However, Sunil Gavaskar believes that punitive measures would be unfair given that India won the T20 World Cup just four months earlier.
Prior to the two series, the Men in Blue were a rather inexperienced team. Regulars like Suryakumar Yadav were unavailable, Jasprit Bumrah was rested following a demanding IPL season, while Hardik Pandya missed the tour due to injury. Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, India did not win any of the six Twenty20 Internationals, which led to criticism of the team’s performance.
Sunil Gavaskar cautioned the board not to overreact despite claims of notable changes following the review meeting: “The BCCI is going to do a review of the defeat, and there are rumours that a few heads could roll.” In a commentary for Sportstar, he said, “That would be an extreme step because India was the world champions just four months ago and are still No. 2 in the ICC rankings.”
The batting unit faced criticism after performing poorly in English conditions, even though a number of players had strong IPL campaigns earlier this year. Young players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma, as well as skipper Shreyas Iyer, found swing, seam movement, and extra bounce difficult.
However, Sunil Gavaskar claims that the issue is more technical than the IPL’s batting-friendly pitches.
There has been much discussion about how Indian hitters have been spoilt by playing on flat batting pitches. The majority of Indian hitters have trouble with the short ball, even on the IPL’s supposedly flat pitches. It’s more of a technical issue. There is really no weight transfer to deal with a ball climbing towards the face while the front foot and back foot are locked,” he continued.
The IPL’s shorter boundaries, which allow wayward shots to clear the ropes rather than result in catches, have made the problem worse, the batting legend continued. He stressed that, given the impending ODI World Cup in South Africa, the issue needs to be handled immediately if India is to succeed overseas.
However, as many of the sixes hit barely make it beyond the boundary rope and may be caught somewhere else, the small borders are also to fault. If India wants to win the ODI title again on South Africa’s faster, bouncier surfaces, this needs to be addressed immediately. Longer boundaries are possible on any Indian ground, but is there the will to do so? The question is that. We’ll find out soon.”
In contrast, Team India got off to a fantastic start in the ODI series against England by winning the opening game at Birmingham.
