Not sure if current Indian team can dominate like the great West Indies or Australian sides: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar has called the current Indian side “supremely talented”, but expressed his doubts if they could dominate the sport the way the great West Indies (in the late 1970s and 80s) and Australian (in the 2000s) sides did.
Virat Kohli became India’s full-time Test captain in January 2015. Since then, the Asian giants have dominated the ICC Test rankings for a cumulative period of almost four years.
Gavaskar believes that despite India’s successes, they have been inconsistent as the Australian and West Indian sides of the past won most of their away series. The Indian batting legend Gavaskar said on The Cricket Analyst Show on YouTube:
“I’m not too sure they’ll be able to dominate as West Indies did. They were winning all five Test matches. Even the Australians were, winning four out of five. I’m not too sure if this Indian team can do that because of the fact that while they are actually a supremely talented team, there are at times inconsistencies that you see. That is the only thing that makes me hold my breath a little bit. But as far as the potential of this team is concerned, I think the sky is the limit.”
Another Test win will see Kohli get past the great West Indian captain Clive Lloyd’s mark of 36 Test victories, placing him behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh as the most successful Test skippers.
Not all 11 in a team can succeed in a cricket match: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar believes that Team India’s success in recent years stems from the fact that four to five players have stepped up at critical junctures. The successful Australian tour in 2020-21 was a great example of India having several players stepping up in dire situations and bailing the side out.
“Clearly, in a game of cricket, not all 11 can succeed. But if four of them can, like two batsmen and two bowlers, then you’re winning more games. And that is what this Indian team certainly is capable of,” added Gavaskar, who has also predicted that India will beat England 4-0 in the upcoming five-Test series in August.
India will face New Zealand in the first-ever final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) in Southampton from June 18. They will then play England in a five-Test series. India’s last series win in England came under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid in 2007.