Sunil Gavaskar: Indian players should avoid verbal spats with the Australians
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Indian cricketers to not involve themselves in any verbal altercation with the Australian cricketers as he feels that the Indians are not as well equipped in sledging as their Australian counterparts.
Rohit Sharma was involved a verbal duel with Australian pacemen Mitchell Johnson on day three of the second Test at Brisbane. The following day, Johnson ripped the heart out of the Indian batting line-up, picking up four for 61 in 17.3 overs in India’s second innings.
Speaking to NDTV, the former India opening batsman said that Indian cricketers, from their junior days, are not brought up that way and hence it is better off that they stay away from such duels.
"I think the Indians should not get into verbal spats with the Australians. We in India, even in club level, are not used to chirping. But the Australians, from the very beginning, are getting into these situations regularly. So it's really water off a duck's back to an Australian if you have verbal spats with him," Gavaskar said.
"On the other hand, as an Indian it will always stay in your mind even if you are dishing it out. If it is staying at the back of your mind then it is counter-productive. So I think giving it back to Australians wasn't such a smart idea. I know we have talked about being aggressive, but that is about aggressive intent,” he added.
“I am lauding the Australians for the way they tempered the verbal spats in this series, especially after the unfortunate Phil Hughes incident. I think they are trying to turn over a new leaf, and that's how cricket should be played."
Not happy with the bowlers’ performance: Gavaskar
The 65-year-old expressed his disappointment at the manner in which the Indian bowlers performed in the game, saying that they didn’t use the conditions at the Gabba properly.
"I am not quite happy with the Indian bowlers' performance. I don't think they exploited the Brisbane pitch that well. Pitches in Australia are normally good for batting on day 3 and 4 but when you let a team off the hook and allow them to score 500 runs then you can't say that it was good bowling effort," he said.
When asked about the Shikhar Dhawan incident, when he declined to walk out to bat on the morning of day four due to an injury, Gavaskar said that can't be used as an excuse for India’s defeat in the second Test.
"Let's not make that as an excuse. A person who has scored a century in his last two innings, he should have been prepared in those seven minutes. As an opener, I can say that batsmen get about seven to eight minutes especially if the innings starts in the middle of the day's play."
Hopeful that India won't lose 4-0: Gavaskar
Following the loss at Brisbane, the Indians now find themselves 2-0 down in the four-match series, but Gavaskar chose to be positive about India’s chances heading into the Boxing Day Test on Friday.
"I think what India can hope for is that the Christmas spirit also carries onto the Boxing Day Test match. That will be a good thing for Indian cricket.
“I am hoping that Christmas spirit prevails and the Australians are still celebrating Christmas when they take to the field on Boxing day. That might give us a little bit of a chance and of course the weather in Melbourne can be very unpredictable. I am optimistic that India will not be whitewashed 4-0 this time," he concluded.