Sunil Gavaskar taking dig at Virat Kohli? Batting great says 'India don't need big names' to win series

Former India National Cricket Team batsman Sunil Gavaskar has stated that Team India don’t need to depend on ‘big names’ to win any series and there are enough talented players in the country who can lead the team to victories.

The Rohit Sharma & Co. are currently involved in a five-match Test series against England National Cricket Team at home. They started off the series on a poor note and suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Ben Stokes & Co.

However, the hosts made sure that they performed better in the next three matches and made an outstanding comeback in the series. India won by 106 runs, 434 runs, and 5 wickets in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tests in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, and Ranchi to seal the series 3-1, with one match remaining.

The series victory against the Three Lions was quite special for the Indian team as they won in the absence of many key players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Mohammed Shami. The fifth and final Test match of the series is scheduled to be held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala from March 07.

Speaking ahead of the last Test of the series, batting great Sunil Gavaskar likened India’s win in the England series to the historic Australia Test series win in 2020-21. He recalled how India missed several first-choice players in the Australia series and the newcomers showed courage, stamina, grit, and determination, which was also the case in the ongoing England Tests.

“India missed a lot of big names in Australia but they still managed to pull off a fantastic win not just in Gabba but also in Melbourne. They came back after being bowled out for 36. Winning in Melbourne then they battled hard to save the Sydney Test match. If Rishabh Pant stayed on the crease for half an hour then India could have won that match as well.

“But the courage, stamina, grit and determination that the young Indian players showed during that Australia tour was visible even this time around against England,” he said on Sports Tak.

If any big name thinks that India won’t win without him… – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar further took a dig at ‘big names’ missing the England Test series, stating that India don’t need stars to win a series as cricket is a team sport and it doesn’t depend on any individual.

“That’s why I always say, you don’t need big names… If any big name thinks that India won’t win without him these two series have shown that whether you are there or not (it doesn’t matter). Cricket is a team sport. It doesn’t depend on one individual,” Sunil Gavaskar said.

Sunil Gavaskar was also impressed with the way captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have managed the young players in the series against England and motivated them to excel.

“Credit must go to the way captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have managed the team. They gave chances to the young players, moulded them, and encouraged them to play their natural game. This shows that whether we have big names or not, if we have players with big hearts then we can win.”

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma would be looking forward to guiding India National Cricket Team to a victory in the fifth Test to seal the series 4-1 and extend his great record as the skipper of the national team.