THE great Sunil Gavaskar was among many who had high expectations for Rohit Sharma when he took over as India’s captain last February, following a turbulent conclusion to Virat Kohli’s tenure. Since then, India has performed poorly in a Test series in South Africa, lost the World Test Championship final, and failed to get to the T20 World Cup final in Australia.
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Gavaskar has expressed dissatisfaction with Rohit’s leadership following a string of defeats, and he has also called for greater accountability from the coaching team, which includes Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour, and Paras Mhambrey.
I expected more from him (Rohit),” Gavaskar said earlier this week while speaking at The Indian Express Idea Exchange. While things are different in India, success abroad is actually the true test. He has let us down a little in that regard. It has been disheartening to not be able to go to the finals, even in the T20 format, despite having hundreds of IPL matches under my belt as captain and a mix of the greatest IPL players.
The former Indian captain also inquired as to whether the selectors and BCCI had conducted a thorough evaluation of India’s losses. He spoke specifically to India’s defeat by Australia in the World Test Championship, saying that coach Dravid and captain Rohit should have been questioned about their choices.
Rohit Sharma discussed the lack of preparation after the WTC defeat, saying that in a perfect scenario, a team would require 20 days of preparation. Gavaskar did not accept such justification. What sort of planning are we discussing? They have since travelled to the West Indies. The World Test Championship is an illustration that is available to you. Playing any games lately? What then is this talk of 20 to 25 days? … Being sincere when discussing preparation is important. Go 15 days beforehand and play two exhibition games. The star players can take a break, but the supporting cast may be pushing the underachievers. He is not given the chance to demonstrate his competence.
The veteran players, who are guaranteed their spots, are blamed by Gavaskar for their reluctance. The main guys, in reality, do not want to leave early. because they are confident that they will be chosen despite all odds. Additionally, if you arrive early, they will discuss the task. How do you break down so quickly when you claim to be the world’s fittest squad or more fit than previous generations? When you play a 20-over game, how can you have a workload problem?
The first batter to surpass 10,000 Test runs also brought up the issue of coaches’ responsibility. While bowling coach Mhambrey began his tenure under head coach Dravid, batting coach Rathour has carried on from the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era.
“You should investigate what has changed with your technique if batters are consistently making the same errors. How have you attempted to make the batter better? Have you attempted to suggest that you use a different guard? Take a middle and off stump guard rather than a leg-stump guard.
“I recall making an impromptu call to Virender Sehwag once. He hadn’t been putting up a lot of runs. Just try the off-stump guard, I advised him. Thus, he enquired, “Why, Sunny bhai?” So I said to him, “Look, your footwork isn’t exactly fantastic. It makes things more challenging for you because sometimes when you’re getting out, you’re reaching out for the delivery. Therefore, perhaps taking the off-stump guard will allow you to immediately recognise that the ball is outside the off-stump. The coach can offer his advice in that situation.
It’s unfortunate because you ought to be able to come together when the play is over and perhaps not discuss the game but rather music, films, or your interest in space. However, it would be disappointing if that were not the case. Having said that, the innovation, which dates back at least 20 years, is that each player now has their own room. That may also have a role.
Gavaskar has served as a commentator for nearly all of India’s matches, both at home and overseas, and is available to the batsmen for any batting-related advice. Has he been approached in the previous five to ten years?
