The Indian team is facing severe criticism after its crushing 30-run defeat in the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The team will now play the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, starting November 22nd. India must win this match at all costs to draw the series. Before this Test, former Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has issued a strong message to the Indian team management and selectors.
Sunil Gavaskar’s advice to the selectors and Gautam Gambhir
Through an article, the former Indian captain stressed that after this defeat, the selectors and Gautam Gambhir should reflect on the wrong approach to building the Test team. He clarified that Test cricket doesn’t rely on all-rounders like in limited-overs cricket. Instead, more reliance should be placed on players who have proven themselves in domestic cricket. Without naming any players, he said that Test cricket requires specialist players, those who possess the ability to remain patient and disciplined over long periods of time. Selections should not be based on ego or short-term form.
According to Gavaskar, the three-day defeat at Eden Gardens highlighted a long-standing problem. Indian batsmen once again struggled on spin-friendly home pitches. He wrote that players who spend more time in international cricket outside India lack experience on turning home pitches, and this creates difficulties.
He wrote in the column, “International players spend so much time abroad that they rarely get the opportunity to play on such pitches at home, and this is where the problems begin.”
He admitted that a batsman who can bowl occasionally or a bowler who can provide some help with the bat when needed, both have their utility, but India should stop selecting players who cannot make it to the playing XI on the basis of any one skill.
This issue was the main source of criticism during the recent home Test series against the West Indies, where Reddy bowled very little. He bowled only four overs in the first innings of the Ahmedabad Test, and was not used at all in the Delhi Test.