England vs India 2018: Sunil Gavaskar slams Shikhar Dhawan
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Shikhar Dhawan for not altering his approach in the longest format of the game. The left-handed opener is known to play an attacking brand of cricket, however, Gavaskar is not impressed by the same and wants Dhawan to make a 'mental adjustment' to prosper in red ball cricket.
Dhawan was selected over Cheteshwar Pujara in the team and played a decent knock of 26 runs in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test, adding 50 runs for the first wicket with Murali Vijay. In the second innings, he could manage only 13 as India failed to chase down the target of 194 runs set by England.
"Shikhar simply does not want to change his game," Gavaskar said on a show with 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 condition," he added.
The 69-year-old then went on to add that none of the current crop of Indian batsmen come to him for advice on how to perform in conditions such as in England. Only Ajinkya Rahane, he said, comes to him sometimes.
"No batsman comes to me for advice now. Earlier, players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman would often speak to me on tours but I guess this generation is different and they have different coaches and batting coaches. Only Ajinkya Rahane comes to me sometimes."