Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that bringing in MS Dhoni as a mentor for the Indian team for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was a very good idea, but said that it was the responsibility of the players to perform in the middle as Dhoni will be sitting in the dressing room.
Gavaskar welcomed the inclusion of MS Dhoni as India’s mentor at the T20 World Cup, saying off-field tactics might help influence the outcome of games in fast-paced T20 cricket. However, he pointed out that a lot will depend on how Indian players execute their plans in crunch situations.
BCCI secretary MS Dhoni was convinced to take up the role of the mentor and thanked him for the gesture of not taking any remuneration as India look to end their 8-year drought for an ICC trophy.
“Mentor won’t do much on the field. But in the change room, he is needed. T20 is such a fast-paced game that the right tactics can change the proceedings. When you have a time-out, you need to know what you have to tell your batters or fielders. To understand this, bringing MS Dhoni as mentor is a very good move. It will definitely benefit the team,” Gavaskar said.
“But he will remain in the change room. But the work on the field needs to be done by the players. So learning how to handle that pressure and then respond to that pressure will influence the result,” he added.
India Needs To Get The Team Selection Correct: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar also pointed out that captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri, along with vice-captain Rohit Sharma and mentor MS Dhoni need to work a lot on picking the correct playing XI in the T20 World Cup 2021.
He also highlighted that India has not been able to get past the knockout hurdles at ICC tournaments in the recent past and said team selection is something that the Asian giants should get right at these crucial matches. India was knocked out in the semi-final of the 2015 World Cup and the T20 World Cup in 2016. In 2017, India lost to Pakistan in the final of the Champions Trophy followed by a semi-final departure at the 2019 World Cup.
“From whatever I have seen, India have lacked in major knock out games and that lacking has been in team selection. The selection of the final XI. If you are able to sort out that final XI problem, then you might not face the hiccup,” Gavaskar said.
India will take on Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai to kick off their T20 World Cup 2021.
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