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Follow UsAfter saving the Test at Gabba, India had a real opportunity to win in Melbourne, but the last-wicket partnership between Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon not only frustrated the visitors but nearly took them out of the game.
Eventually, India lost seven wickets in the last session on Day 5. Not only did they lose that game, but also opened up a floodgate for the rest of the series as going down 1-3. In the aftermath of the disastrous tour Down Under, former Indian opener-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar was heavily critical of the Indian batters for letting down the bowling unit.
“You need 20 wickets to win the match, but also you need to score runs. It has often happened that the team has picked up 20 wickets, but the batters have failed. Our bowlers, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, have bowled really well. Our batters, who have a bigger name than the bowlers, failed miserably,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
While not pointing fingers at individuals, Gavaskar threw the roof down on the batters, stating that they were ‘throwing their wicket away’ without any technique.
“You are playing a Test match, so you should have technique. You are playing Test cricket because you have some technique. But you are going there and swinging, throwing your wicket away. You will never win a Test series like this.”
The 75-year-old was extremely frustrated with the Indian management’s approach towards the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, where they suffered a humiliating defeat. Gavaskar stated that they should have utilised one of the five home Tests (against Bangladesh and New Zealand) to prepare.
“Why not, when you had five domestic matches, why didn’t you play with the pink ball? That’s what you had to do or decide not to play pink-ball Tests. You have the power to say that we (India) don’t want to play pink-ball Tests.
But if you accepted it and knew it from a year ago, you should have utilised one of the five home Tests as a pink-ball Test. You should have played the Mumbai Test (against NZ) as a pink ball Test. Then, it would have been a muscle memory for the cricketers to play in Adelaide with the pink ball."
On the same lines, Gavaskar also questioned the management on whether they had a match-ready player in case there were more injury concerns in the dressing room, opening up a Pandora's box.
“You know how the ball bounces and moves. Another thing is that you don’t play practice matches at all. Did you have a match-ready player for the fifth Test if you had an injury? I’ve been saying this for a while: you should keep the fringe players ready for matches, they should be ready, they have not come as tourists.”
However, Gavaskar wants the management not to commit the same mistakes against England when they tour later this year. The Mumbaikar also advised the management to utilise the time between Tests to have ‘practise games’, which would keep the players on their toes, instead of serving drinks.
“Next, you are going to England. I want the fringe players to use the gaps between Tests to play some practice games. You shouldn’t make excuses that you don’t have good opposition or bowlers; you should practise.”
“We had a squad of 19, but we didn’t have a good third bowler. I don’t agree with the squad being 19; it should be 16-17. You can’t have 19 people in the same dressing room. You are diluting the India cap and jersey. The message should be, ‘You must earn your place in the 16.’”
