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The India National Cricket Team may have won the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 3-0, but legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar was not completely satisfied with the team's overall performance. Sunil Gavaskar has strongly criticized India's poor fielding and said the selectors should not ignore repeated mistakes on the field.
Even though the Men in Blue completed a clean sweep, they dropped several catches and made many fielding errors during the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Gavaskar believes that these mistakes can cost India big matches in the future, so such players should not be given a regular place in the playing XI. Amid this, Deep Dasgupta sets condition for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's 2027 World Cup hopes.
Sunil Gavaskar demands tough action against India's poor fielders
India's fielding has been a major concern for the Indian National Cricket Team lately. Before the Zimbabwe tour, the Men in Blue had a disappointing tour of Ireland and England.
India lost the two-match T20I series against Ireland 2-0 and then suffered a 4-0 loss in T20Is and a 2-1 loss in the ODI series to England. Looking at these performances, Sunil Gavaskar has demanded the removal of the poor fielders.
He said that every player must save runs and take catches because fielding is now as important as batting and bowling. He feels that if a player is not good enough in the field, the selectors should take a tough decision, no matter how talented that player is with the bat or ball. Amid this, Abhishek Sharma under pressure! Ex-BCCI selector backs Sanju Samson's India XI return.
Sunil Gavaskar questions India's batting approach and poor fielding
Sunil Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Sportstar, “It's mandatory that if a player is an average fielder, he has to be shown the door. There is simply no way a captain has to hide three or four players, hoping the ball won’t go anywhere near them.”
The former Indian captain further added, “Shot selection is very important, and here the batter has to rein in his ego and not try to live up to an image but play the ball on its merits.
Yes, in the ultra-short format, the T20, it is not easy to do so, as big shots are needed virtually every other delivery. But it is different in the ODI format, where there is time for a short period of settling down before the power shots are unfurled.”
"Stop playing reckless cricket": Sunil Gavaskar slams India's batting
Apart from fielding, Sunil Gavaskar also questioned India's batting approach in the recent white-ball series. He believes the Indian batters have not shown enough match awareness, especially during the England tour. They failed to chase 183 in one match and then could not reach 155 in the next game.
The cricket pundit feels the Indian batters are trying to play too many attacking shots without reading the match situation. He admitted that T20 cricket is an attacking format, but that does not mean batters should play reckless cricket.
Gavaskar further explained, “It’s necessary to play smart cricket. So, figure out the bowler who doesn’t need to be counter-attacked. Then target the bowlers against whom you can make up for the quiet over from the better bowler."
"No team in the world has five top bowlers, and there will always be eight to 12 overs in a T20 game where the runs can be looted. Similarly, in the 50-over format, a little patience won’t hurt even if the team is chasing a big score like 380-plus.”
