England vs India, 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Reckons Extra Batsman Becomes 'Vital' in Low-Scoring Games

The legendary icon of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar isn’t impressed with the Indian batsmen whatsoever in the English conditions. He lashed out at the immaturity shown by the experienced campaigners during ongoing England vs India Test series.

Gavaskar revealed he is disappointed with the performance of Team India. He mentioned they shattered the hopes of a good summer. With the dry conditions, India expected a lot from the current players.

Great players make the mental adjustment quicker: Sunil Gavaskar

From hailing Sam Curran to lashing out at Indian players, Gavaskar was harsh in his write-up for reputed Times of India. He added that the talented players would make a quick adjustment in a mindset like a skipper Virat Kohli.

Gavaskar hailed the marathon knock played by Kohli in the first innings of the game. Kohli alongside the tail-enders decreased the trail-margin to 13 runs which would have been even worse if that would not have been the case.

”Just when it seemed that it was going to be an Indian summer, the England seamers led by young Sam Curran shattered that hope as England won the first Test by 31 runs. It was a close game and made so only by the brilliant batting of the Indian captain Virat Kohli. The manner in which he sheltered the tail-enders and got India to within 13 runs of the England first innings total was breathtaking,” Gavaskar wrote for ToI.

”Great players make the mental adjustment quicker than the others and Kohli kept making it virtually every delivery he faced. Despite playing and missing at the start when the ball was moving considerably, he gritted it out, shortening his backlift and reducing his bat speed. As the movement lessened, he began to unfurl the range of shots that he has in his armoury. Unfortunately, the others didn’t make that mental strength,” he added.

Shikhar Dhawan has himself to blame: Gavaskar

Unlike others, Shikhar Dhawan has always been the primary player to be axed after a poor performance.

Despite scoring a bit better than the rest of the batsman, Dhawan has always been the centre figure to look at.

Sunil Gavaskar questions his selection when the team has a less faith in him. At the moment England Vs India Lord’s Test is halted by rain. But Kohli has to deliver yet again after losing the top order at a cheap score.

However, he feels Dhawan should blame himself as he always walks out for a reckless shot.

”If the news, that Dhawan is the one who is dropped, is correct then it hardly is a surprise, for every time the team loses he is the first one axed even when he has scored more runs in the lost game than others who retain their places. If there is so little faith in him then why pick him in the touring party at all? Dhawan also has himself to blame as when he is batting well, he throws his wicket away to an indiscreet shot,” Sunil Gavaskar added.

However, it would be interesting to see how things pan out for India and Dhawan as the series would progress. He missed his place while making way for Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara.