Sunil Gavaskar calls Gautam Gambhir's fans 'foot-lickers', credits Rohit Sharma for India's aggressive approach
Published - 07 Oct 2024, 03:51 PM | Updated - 07 Oct 2024, 03:52 PM
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar believes that Rohit Sharma deserves all the credit for India's aggressive batting style to win the Kanpur Test. Sunil Gavaskar said that some may attribute this change to Gautam Gambhir, but Rohit Sharma was the reason for the batting revolution in Indian cricket.
Only 35 overs of play were possible on Day 1 of the second Test. The following two days of the match were called off without a single ball bowled. The match appeared to be heading towards a draw, but the home team made an extraordinary effort to win the match and secure a 2-0 series victory.
Old Powers Referred To It As “Gamball - Sunil Gavaskar
In his column for Sportstar, Sunil Gavaskar said that some media called Indian batting “Bossball” and some referred to it as “Gamball.”
“While one paper called the Indian batting “Bossball” because the captain or “boss” of the team, Rohit, had shown the way, some from the old powers referred to it as “Gamball” after the Indian coach, Gautam Gambhir,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“While the England batting approach changed completely under the new regime of Ben Stokes and McCullum, we have seen over the last couple of years that Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well,” he added.
Team India Secured Seven-Wicket Victory Over Bangladesh In Kanpur Test
Team India showcased a remarkable performance on Day 4 and took the remaining seven wickets to bowl out the opposition for 233. The Rohit Sharma-led team set multiple records for the fastest team milestones, including the quickest 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 in Test history, in the first innings.
The hosts took a 52-run lead after the conclusion of the first innings. They bowled out Bangladesh for 146 runs in the morning session of Day 5. Chasing a target of 95 runs, India completed the task in only 17.2 overs. They scripted a stunning win and moved another step closer to making the WTC final.
Foot-Licking Of The Highest Quality - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar said that it's unfair to credit Gautam Gambhir for India's new aggressive batting approach, adding that he hasn't been coaching for long and didn't bat in that style himself. Gavaskar emphasized that the credit should go solely to Rohit Sharma.
“Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else,” Gavaskar wrote.
“Instead of using the words this-ball or that-ball, I would suggest using the skipper’s first name, Rohit, and term it the “Gohit” approach. Hopefully, brainier people will come up with a trendier name for this rather than the lazy option of calling it after “Bazball”,” he stated.
Rohit Sharma will be next seen in action during the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand at home, with the first match scheduled to be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from Wednesday, October 16.
