Tag: Gavaskar

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Gavaskar Tips Rohit-Kohli Opening Pair

WTC Final: Batting was in a shambles, especially the shot-making, says Sunil Gavaskar after India's defeat

Gavaskar named his playing 11 for India’s opening encounter in the T20 showpiece at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5..reports Asian Lite News

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has backed skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the opening pair for Men in Blue’s opening T20 World Cup clash against Ireland on Wednesday.

Gavaskar named his playing 11 for India’s opening encounter in the T20 showpiece at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5. Interestingly, the veteran batter dropped pacer Arshdeep Singh from his final 11 and backed all-rounder Shivam Dube to strengthen the batting department.

“I don’t really like selecting teams because you can never satisfy everybody there will always be somebody’s favourite player who’s not being pick but here is my effort to try and pick the 11 for the game against Ireland. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to open the batting along with Yashasvi Jaiswal at three Suryakumar Yadav at four Rishabh Pant at five and at number six, I would have Hardik Pandya,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

The former India captain picked Kuldeep Yadav as the sole spinner along with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

“Number seven would be Ravindra Jadeja, number eight mean not necessarily in that batting order Shivam Dube number nine Kuldeep Yadav number 10 Jasprit Bumrah and number 11 will be MD Siraj,” he added.

Gavaskar’s predicted playing XI against Ireland: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

In the recently concluded IPL, Kohli finished as the highest run-getter while opening the batting for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He slammed 741 runs including a century and five fifties. Keeping his recent form in mind, many have voiced his elevation at the top in the T20 World Cup.

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Gavaskar Backs Cummins to Lead SRH

SRH bought Cummins for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore at the auction last December last year….reports Asian Lite News

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar backed Pat Cummins to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024.

SRH bought Cummins for a whopping Rs 20.50 crore at the auction last December last year. Travis Head (Rs 6.80 crore) was their other expensive buy at the auction.

Gavaskar, speaking on Star Sports, hailed the move as a game-changer for SRH, citing Cummins’ leadership qualities and all-around skills as pivotal for the team’s success.

“I think Pat Cummins was a smart buy, maybe a little over-expensive. Smart buy because he will bring the leadership aspect to their team, which was lacking the last time around,” said Gavaskar.

“Last time around, some of the bowling changes that we saw in crucial games were just head-scratching, and that cost them matches. So now with Pat Cummins coming in, I am pretty certain that he will be the captain of the team and that will make a huge difference,” the former India captain added.

Cummins’ ability to deliver with both bat and ball adds an extra dimension to SRH’s arsenal. Gavaskar referenced Cummins’ blistering 14-ball half-century for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022 as a testament to his prowess as an all-rounder.

SRH’s overhaul didn’t stop with Cummins. They also splashed Rs 6.80 crore on Travis Head, the explosive Australian batsman known for his ability to single-handedly change the course of a game.

Gavaskar identified Head as the perfect fit for the opening slot, envisioning an electrifying partnership with either Mayank Agarwal or Rahul Tripathi.

“Travis Head is the kind of batter who can take the game away from you. He did that in the World Cup finals. He is just the ideal No. 1 in a 20-overs game for the SunRisers Hyderabad.”

“So, he and whoever opens with him, whether it’s Mayank Agarwal or whether it’s Rahul Tripathi, who started as an opener and then went in the middle, if he comes in the opening slot again, then it will be entertaining batting for sure,” Gavaskar stated.

Agarwal and Tripathi, both underwhelming in IPL 2023, will be looking for redemption, while Abhishek Sharma presents another opening option for SRH.

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Gavaskar disappointed with Rohit’s captaincy

Rohit took over the captaincy reins in February last year after Virat Kohli’s time as the skipper came to an end…reports Asian Lite News

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has said that he has been disappointed with Rohit Sharma’s tenure as the captain of the Indian team, and said he expected more from the 36-year-old opener.

In addition, he also called for increased accountability from the coaching staff.

Rohit took over the captaincy reins in February last year after Virat Kohli’s time as the skipper came to an end. Although India has achieved positive results in bilateral home series, they have encountered difficulties in achieving success in major tournaments as India failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup final in Australia, lost the World Test Championship final last month.

Sunil Gavaskar

“I expected more from him (Rohit). 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,” Gavaskar told The Indian Express.

The former Indian skipper also expressed his desire to ascertain whether the team management conducted a thorough review of India’s losses. While specifically addressing India’s defeat to Australia in the WTC final last month, he emphasised that coach Rahu Dravid and captain Rohit should have been held accountable to explain the decisions they made during the match.

“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 said.

Team India is set to kick off their 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a two-match Test series against West Indies, starting from July 12.

The series will be followed by three ODIs and five T20Is.

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Gavaskar blasts Aus selectors

'He is trying to play the ball early', Sunil Gavaskar says on Kohli's latest batting failure

The ex-cricketers have been extremely critical of the current Australian side for their batting woes…reports Asian Lite News

Former India batting great Sunil Gavaskar while highlighting the flaws of the Australian selectors has said that instead of pointing fingers at players, the role of the selectors should be questioned.

The ex-cricketers have been extremely critical of the current Australian side for their batting woes. Australia legend Allan Border has lashed out at Steve Smith, who passed a thumbs-up gesture to the bowler after a ball beat his outside edge. While former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also slammed the team for their lackluster show in the opening match of the series.

“While the ex-Australian players on the various media platforms are having a real go at their players, the ones who should be the real targets are the Australian selectors,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Gavaskar also cited the example of Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out of the first Test due to an Achilles injury and Mitchell Starc, who was part of the playing XI in the third Test in Indore and said why the selectors picked Hazlewood, Starc, and Cameron Green in the squad when they knew they would not be available for the first two Tests.

“How can they pick three players (Hazlewood, Starc, and Cameron Green) who they knew would not be available for selection for the first two Test matches? That is, for half the series, the team management had only 13 players to pick from.

“Then they fly in a newcomer (Matthew Kuhnemann) when they had a similar player already in the team. If they didn’t think the player in the team was good enough, why did they pick him in the first place?

“That meant the team management was picking their 11 from 12 players. Ridiculous. If they have any sense of responsibility the selectors should resign even if Australia make a stunning comeback and win the next two Tests and level the series,” wrote Gavaskar.

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Gavaskar in love with T20 cricket

The T20 format game has attracted lot of criticism from some past cricketers who have blamed it for Test cricket losing relevance and players spoiling technique….reports Asian Lite News

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar says he is fond of T20 format unlike most other cricketers of his era since the shortest format involves more action than others.

The T20 format game has attracted lot of criticism from some past cricketers who have blamed it for Test cricket losing relevance and players spoiling technique.

The demise of West Indies Test team due to players from the Caribbean preferring T20 franchise leagues has especially led to criticism of the format.

“I know a lot of people who played around my time, they’re not happy with the T20 format, but I actually love it. I love it for the simple reason that you know it’s a three-hour game, and you get a result, and you get to see so much action,” said Gavaskar on The Analyst Inside podcast.

Gavaskar, who was the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test matches, said that innovative strokes attracted him.

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