Let's Not Jump Into Conclusions Too Soon: Sunil Gavaskar Wants To Hold On Before Lavishing Praise On Ajinkya Rahane

Former Indian opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar was visibly impressed by Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy moves in the opening day of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne. All eyes were inevitably on Ajinkya Rahane, who had to step into the leadership role as Virat Kohli decided to skip the last three Tests. While Sunil Gavaskar praised Rahane, he did so cautiously.

Ajinkya Rahane impressed several cricketers with his innovative moves on the field, specifically bringing Ravichandran Ashwin in the 11th over. It brought the tourists the wickets of Matthew Wade and Steve Smith that allowed India to tighten things further and go for the kill. India bundled out Australia for 195 and were 36 for 1 at the close of day one.

Sunil Gavaskar started by saying that he does not want to jump to conclusions since if he praised Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy, people would accuse him of backing Mumbai guy. Sunil Gavaskar, who also belongs to Mumbai, has been often indicted of favouritism. Since these are early days, the 71-year old refuses to draw any conclusions.

“Importantly, let’s not jump into conclusions too quickly. If I say that his captaincy is outstanding, then again, I will be accused of backing a Mumbai boy and all kinds of things will happen. So I don’t want to get into that because these are early days,” Gavaskar said as quoted by India Today.

It’s very important for the bowlers to bowl to their field: Sunil Gavaskar

The 125-Test veteran, who has observed Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy in the last two Tests, felt that he had an excellent sense of where to place the fielders. Gavaskar pointed out that bowlers must bowl to the field and if they do that consistently, the captain looks good too.

“From what I have seen in the last 2 Tests he captained and the one-day matches he captained, he has got a great sense of where the fielders should be kept. Having said that, it’s very important for the bowlers to bowl to their field. If the bowlers bowl to the field, as they did today, then the captain looks very good,” he added.

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