ENG vs IND 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Lashes Out At Shikhar Dhawan's Approach In Test Cricket

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Shikhar Dhawan after his failure in the first England vs India Test at Edgbaston.

Barring Virat Kohli, none of the other Indian batsmen could deliver in the testing conditions. And Dhawan was also a big letdown.

The left-handed batsman was not a certainty to open with Murali Vijay after bagging a pair in the warm-up match against a second-string Essex side. The southpaw had faced just four deliveries in the warm-up game. That performance further tarnished his image as a Test batsman in overseas conditions.

However, the team gambled on him and it backfired.  In both innings, Dhawan reached out with hard hands at a ball that was moving away outside off stump and was caught in the slips. In the first innings, he got the start and was batting on 26 before poking at an away going delivery from Sam Curran. He struggled in the second innings too as he edged a Stuart Broad delivery to the wicketkeeper after scoring 13.

And Gavaskar has now slammed Dhawan for his stubbornness to not change his game which according to him has brought the opener’s downfall in overseas Tests.

“Shikhar simply does not want to change his game,” Gavaskar told Aaj Tak.

“He believes in playing in the same manner which has brought him success till now. You can still get away with such shots in one-day cricket because there aren’t many slips and the push or the edge goes for a boundary through the slip cordon.

“But in Tests, such shots will only result in a fall of wicket. Till a player makes a mental adjustment, he will continue to struggle against the red ball in overseas conditions,” added Gavaskar.

India are trailing the series 1-0 after losing a low-scoring thriller in Birmingham. Chasing 194, the visitors were all out for just 162. They will now be looking to square the series when they take on the hosts in the second Test at Lord’s starting on Thursday.