“I don’t have an ego” - Sunil Gavaskar opens up on why he is mindful of giving batting advice to current Indian players
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar has said that ego is not stopping him from giving batting advice to current Indian players because he doesn’t have one.
He explained that since India already having a head coach in batting legend Rahul Dravid as well as a separate batting coach in Vikram Rathour, he is mindful of confusing the players with too much information.
Team India’s main batters have been struggling for runs over the last few seasons especially in red-ball cricket. Inconsistent performances from Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have hurt India’s chances in major events like the World Test Championship (WTC).
Being a commentator, Gavaskar has been around the Indian team in almost every game that they have played in recent years. Asked about whether any cricketer had approached him for advice, the former Indian captain said at The Indian Express Idea Exchange:
“No, no one has come. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman regularly came to me. And they would approach me with a specific problem and you could tell them something which you had observed.”
The Unfortunate Few: Players who were part of the most defeats in ICC finals.
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On why he is careful about himself going to the players and having a chat, the batting legend explained:
“I don’t have an ego about this, I could go and talk to them but since there are two coaches - Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathore - so sometimes you hold back since you don’t want to confuse them with too much information.”
India’s batting flopped in the WTC final as they were bowled out for 296 and 234.
“It’s a sad thing” - Gavaskar on Ashwin’s “we are just colleagues” comment
In an interview to The Indian Express, seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had made a startling revelation that, ‘earlier, team mates used to be friends, now we are just colleagues’.
Responding to the statement, Gavaskar opined that it said a lot about the current team environment.
The former cricketer elaborated:
“It’s a sad thing because you should be able to get together after play ends and maybe not talk about the game but talk about music, maybe talk about the films you like, maybe talk about your interest in space. But if that is not what is happening, that is disappointing. Having said that, the new thing that started 20 years back or longer is that every player gets a single room. That too can be a factor.”
"Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they are colleagues. That's the big difference."
- RAVI ASHWIN
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Despite being the No. 1 Test bowler, Ashwin was not picked in the Indian playing XI for the WTC 2023 final.