Sunil Gavaskar slams Team India's poor use of DRS calls in Rohit Sharma's absence

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at Team India for wasting two reviews in the fifth Test against England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.

India thrashed England by an innings and 64 runs to clinch the five-match series 4-1. England were bowled out for 195 runs in their second innings after India took a big first-innings lead of 259 runs. Barring Joe Root, who scored 84 runs, no other England batter could provide any resistance with the bat.

Jonny Bairstow looked good for a while but could not convert his start and was dismissed for 39 runs. For India, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up five wickets while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah claimed two wickets apiece.

Earlier in the game, centuries from captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill propelled India to 477 runs. Rohit scored 103 while Gill scored 110 runs as the two also shared a 171-run stand between them for the second wicket. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, and Sarfaraz Khan scored fifties as well to put India in the driver’s seat. Before that, Kuldeep’s impressive five-wicket haul helped India bowl out England for just 218 runs in the first innings.

Sunil Gavaskar slams India:

While India were well in command of the proceedings on day three of the Test in Dharamsala, Sunil Gavaskar was not at all impressed with the way the team wasted two reviews. Captain Rohit Sharma did not take the field due to a stiff back and vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah was in charge.

On both occasions, India reviewed the umpire’s decision against Joe Root. Incidentally, there was a thick inside edge on both occasions as the commentators criticized the Indian camp’s decision-making on the field. While some players did show hesitation on both occasions, the majority of them wanted the review.

“The bowler is best placed to see if there’s an edge,” Sunil Gavaskar said before adding: “The wicketkeeper is the key man. The bowler will always want you to go up.”

Root went on to score 84 runs but it did not hurt India much as they registered an easy victory. Most of the Indian players will now gear up for IPL 2024, scheduled to be played from March 22.