Without taking R Ashwin’s name, Gavaskar said “one bowler giving 43 runs was main problem”. Gavaskar termed the fielding lapses – Virat Kohli dropped Aiden Markram on 35 and shortly after, Rohit Sharma would miss a run out of Markram – as part of cricket and centred on Ashwin’s spell in a low-scoring thriller.
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“Things like dropping a catch and missing a run-out chance happen in cricket. We can’t blame any one player for the loss. When luck is not on your side, big players too can drop catches or miss run-out chances. I believe that the main problem when India fielded was one bowler giving away 43 runs,” Gavaskar. told Aaj Tak.
Ashwin had given away 43 runs but it was off his bowling that Markram was dropped. And he was made to bowl the vital 18th over by Rohit Sharma, when Miller tonked him for two sixes.
Gavaskar said he wished India had played Yuzvendra Chahal in the game against Netherlands to get him in form for the rest of the tournament.
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“I believe Yuzvendra Chahal should have played against Netherlands and it would have given him confidence ahead of next matches.”
What has Paddy Upton done with KL Rahul?
The Indian opener KL Rahul has managed just 22 runs in three games at the T20 world cup. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes it’s just not a matter for batting technique but it’s now a mental issue. He blamed India’s Paddy Upton for “not doing anything with Rahul”.
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“I believe mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton has not done anything with Rahul. While the batting coach can tell him his mistakes, there is a need for the mental conditioning coach to talk with Rahul. He should tell Rahul that he has got the talent and he can score big runs,” said Gavaskar.
He acknowledged Rahul’s failures but also said since there is no one (no regular opener) to replace him, India should be more patient with him.
“Do you have another opener? I don’t think the Indian team has an opener, who can replace Rahul in the side. We have to show some patience with Rahul. Because we know he is a top class batsman when he is in good rhythm. He got out opening the face of the bat with one slip in place and it looked like he was giving catch practice,” Gavaskar said.
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Though he would go on to make a suggestion that Rishabh Pant can open against Bangladesh in the next game.
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“The match against Bangladesh is a big match since the match against Zimbabwe can be affected by weather in Melbourne. So the Indian team has to field their strongest XI against Bangladesh. They can open with Rishabh Pant against Bangladesh since the side boundaries at Adelaide are shorter and he can exploit that,” said Gavaskar.
Terming the Indian batting order relying heavily on top four batsmen, Gavaskar advised the Indian batsman to aim for more partnerships after the five-wicket loss against South Africa in their third match in the T20 World Cup match in Perth on Sunday.
“Indian batting is absolutely top class. But we have seen that when one of two wickets fall, then 1-2 wickets fall in succession. At such a phase, partnerships are needed. That did not happen in this match. That’s why we could score 133 runs. If the partnerships were there, we would have scored in excess of 150 runs and the result would have been different. I believe our batsman could not do anything due to the pitch. The pitch had lots of bounce and our batsman got out due to that. They went for hook and pull shots, which resulted in their dismissal,” said Gavaskar
