IND vs SL: "Would Not Look Too Much Into Defeat" - Sunil Gavaskar's Verdict On India's Loss To Bangladesh In Asia Cup 2023

India National Cricket Team batting great Sunil Gavaskar has shared his verdict on India’s loss to Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash, saying that he wouldn’t look too much into the defeat because the Men In Blue didn’t field their full-strength side for the match.

India faced a 6-run defeat against Bangladesh in the 6th match of the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four stage on Friday, September 15 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. They failed to chase down the target of 266 and got bowled out for 259 despite Shubman Gill’s exceptional century.

Notably, India were without the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah in the game because they were rested and were replaced by Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, and Prasidh Krishna.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar downplayed the loss and said that he would only look at the positives from the Bangladesh clash, which were the performances of Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, and Mohammed Shami. Speaking to Sports Tak, Sunil Gavaskar said:

“I would not look too much into the defeat. I would look at the positives. Shubman Gill batted very well as did Axar Patel, while Mohammed Shami bowled well. I would look at the positives heading into the final.”

We need to remember that this is not our regular team – Sunil Gavaskar

While highlighting India’s decision to rest the in-form players, Sunil Gavaskar said that the side didn’t have the rhythm. He explained:

“We need to remember that this is not our regular team. India made five changes to their team, so they did not have the rhythm – whether we are talking about Suryakumar Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur was dropped for one match. Because the rhythm is not there, things become difficult when you have to play a match.”

Although Gavaskar didn’t look much into India’s defeat, his former teammate Madan Lal was critical of the loss. Lal talked about the poor batting performances from KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan and he also criticized the bowlers for allowing the Bangla Tigers to reach 265/8 from 59/4.

“If you look at India’s batting, there were many soft dismissals. Such shots should not have been played. KL Rahul’s confidence level should have been high after the hundred against a big team like Pakistan. You should also know how to win games. Ishan Kishan’s dismissal was also a soft one.

“India had got four Bangladesh batters out for 59 runs, but then allowed them to score 265 on this wicket,” the 1983 World Cup winner said.

The main players of the team are set to return to the playing XI when India take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday in Colombo.