I Believe Only The Wicketkeeper Should Decide Whether It’s Worth Going For A DRS - Sunil Gavaskar After Virat Kohli Wastes Two Reviews At Lord's

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was left unimpressed after Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj squandered two of the three available reviews in a space of few balls on Day 2 of the ongoing Test at Lord’s.

On two occasions – last ball of the 21st over and fourth ball of the 23rd over – Siraj hit England captain Joe Root on the pads. The pacer vociferously appealed but on both occasions, his appeals were denied by the umpire. On both occasions, he forced the captain into taking reviews; both of which turned out to be in the batsman’s favour.

In fact, notably, on the second review, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was seen holding off Kohli, asking him not to go for the review, but the skipper didn’t pay heed to Pant’s calls and went ahead with the review.

Sunil Gavaskar reckons a captain should take the wicketkeeper’s opinion into consideration and shouldn’t be forced in by the bowler.

“I believe only the wicketkeeper should decide whether it’s worth going for a DRS, because every bowler thinks the batsman is out. Similarly, a batsman when given out LBW thinks he might be not out. The first one was a bit close, but on the second appeal, Rishabh Pant was constantly saying ‘don’t take it, don’t take it,’ but at the last second, Kohli reviewed,” Sunil Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network. 

Virat Kohli probably thought that if India can get Joe Root early: Sunil Gavaskar

The 72-year-old felt Kohli was tempted by the fact the batsman in concern was Root, who has been England’s best batsman this year and an in-form player. Hence, Sunil Gavaskar says, the Indian skipper took the punt.

“If you have to take the review, you need to think what the situation and who the batsman is. Virat Kohli probably thought that if India can get Joe Root early, we can get the rest of the batsmen out quickly,” the former opener stated.

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