Anshuman Gaekwad warns Team India against losing sleep over ICC World Test Championship
Anshuman Gaekwad has warned Team India against losing sleep over the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings. India will will need to win the ongoing Test series against England by 2-1 or 3-1 margins to book their place in the WTC final.
Anshuman Gaekwad believes Virat Kohli and his men shouldn't be thinking too far ahead as it will only add unnecessary pressure on the team. Speaking to Indranil Basu on SK Live, the former India coach said:
"If i was the coach of the Indian team today, i don't think i would have thought of it. You need to concentrate on what you are doing today. Just concentrate on the match, day by day, session by session. That's the only way you can go on. If you set a target, then you are bringing a lot of pressure on yourselves, which is not good for the team and not good for the players. I'm sure Virat, Ravi Shastri and the players must be thinking the same way - lets take one (game) at a time", Anshuman Gaekwad said.
New Zealand have already booked their place in the WTC final, which will take place at Lord's later this year. England, who are in the running to face the Kiwis, need to win the remaining two Tests against India. A drawn series or a 2-1 win for England would send Australia through to the WTC final.
Anshuman Gaekwad has his say on India's rotation policy
Speaking about Team India's rotation policy, Anshuman Gaekwad believes no player wants to sit on the bench. However, given the demands of modern-day cricket and the introduction of sports science professionals, he feels rotation is necessary, especially for fast bowlers.
"Nobody likes to sit on the bench and watch the match. But there are now professionals. They are working on their (players') workload, how much they can take, how much the body can take. They have a very detailed study of each player's body, especially the fast bowlers. And they advise the team management that this is a cut off time, give him (players) a break. Win or lose is a different thing. But if he (a player) breaks down, he will go out for a long time," Anshuman Gaekwad added.
Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the second Test against England. However, India went on to win the match comprehensively by 317 runs.
"There are a lot of cricket happening, so you can't afford to lose on special players like Bumrah, but fortunately, there are so many options Indian team has," said Gaekwad.
The third India-England Test, which will be a day-night encounter, will start on Wednesday in Ahemedabad.