"Attributing this approach to Gambhir is foot-licking of the highest quality" - Sunil Gavaskar credits Rohit Sharma for IND vs BAN 2024 2nd Test win
Former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar rubbished new head coach Gautam Gambhir being credited for the side's attacking batting in the recent second Test win over Bangladesh in Kanpur. After rain washed out over two and half of the first three days, the Kanpur Test appeared to be headed towards a draw.
However, India had other ideas and scored a blistering 285/9 in under 35 overs in their first innings on Day 4 to set up a realistic chance of a miraculous win. They then bowled Bangladesh out for 146 on Day 5 in their second innings and completed a run-chase of 95 in only 17.2 overs to secure a 2-0 series win.
India's approach with the bat and their will to go all-out for a result earned head coach Gambhir massive praise, with many terming the approach 'Gamball' after England's famous Bazball.
Yet, in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar was having none of it, highlighting how skipper Rohit Sharma had already begun this transformative approach before Gambhir's arrival.
"Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else," wrote Gavaskar.
There is much truth to Gavaskar's remarks as Rohit revolutionized India's batting approach by leading from the front in taking on bowlers from the word go since becoming captain in 2022.
The champion batter has been striking at almost 120 in ODIs since 2022, a stark increase from his overall strike rate of 92.43.
"Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well" - Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar further pointed to how Rohit Sharma has done to India's approach what Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have done as coach-captain for England.
Rohit's slam-bang approach was particularly evident at the 2023 ODI World Cup at home when he sacrificed individual milestones for quickfire starts.
"While the England batting approach changed completely under the new regime of Ben Stokes and McCullum, we have seen over the last couple of years that Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well," wrote Gavaskar.
The 37-year-old finished the tournament with 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and an incredible strike rate of almost 126.
Meanwhile, Gambhir took over as India's head coach after their triumphant 2024 T20 World Cup campaign in the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.