Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels India should play an extra batsmen after the poor batting display in the first England vs India Test.
Barring Virat Kohli, none of the other Indian batsmen could provide any fight to the hosts in the testing conditions. The India skipper waged a lone battle while his teammates fell like a pack of cards around him.
Kohli scored a splendid 149 in the first innings before scoring a composed 51 in the second. However, his heroic effort went in vain due to lack of support from the other end. The likes of Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane absolutely failed with the bat.
While Kohli made 200 runs in the Test, the other four in the top-five aggregated only 99. India were off to a good start in the first innings. Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay added 50 runs for the first wicket. However, from thereon, none of the batsmen barring Kohli could apply himself in the testing conditions. India were reeling at 100 for 5 before Kohli rescued them.
The bulk of Kohli’s 149 came in the company of the lower-order batsmen. As a result, India managed to recover and post 274 in reply to England’s 287.
The struggle continued in the second innings too as India were reduced to 78 for 5 during their chase. Dinesh Karthik, who was out for a duck in the first essay, tried to stick around with Kohli but he was dismissed for 20 in the first over of the fourth day.
And when Kohli was dismissed for 51, India still needed 63 runs to win. Hardik Pandya tried to keep India in the game but he was eventually the last man dismissed, falling to Ben Stokes.
And with India’s batting being the weak link at the moment, Gavaskar has advised the team to play an extra batsman.
“I always believe that in overseas conditions, you need to play an additional batsman. They got to believe in themselves that they can do well. I believe in this team,” Gavaskar told IndiaTV.
He also feels that Virat Kohli’s method of preparation can’t be emulated by one and all in the Indian team.
“Kohli can take 50 days off and then come back and score a hundred next day. He is an exceptional talent and if he takes time off, no issues. But the team management need to understand that others need practice. Like he wanted to play county cricket and skipped the Afghanistan Test. I don’t believe it was a correct decision,” he said.