Sunil Gavaskar said giving an option must be a matter of the captain and coach. It must be a big no to any players to do practice just before the start of such a big event of the World cup.
Most of India’s probably first-XI cricketers missing the ‘optional practice session on Friday ahead of their T20 World Cup Super-12 stage match in Melbourne did not go down well with legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. The former India captain came up with a strong response to the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul, and a few others missing the net session. Captain Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, pacers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami, all-rounders Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda, and traveling reserves Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj were the ones sweating it out under the watchful eyes of head coach Rahul Dravid.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I disagree. I disagree with him for a simple reason. At the start of the tournament, when we played a match (a warm-up match), we were in Melbourne for a day.
The legendary opening batsman said giving options should be left to captains and coaches. World To practice at the start of a big tournament like a world cup.
“After all, whoever didn’t participate in the practice could be the winner of the match. But you need a rhythm that works as a team. They want to see the meaning.
“I think only the captain and the coach should give options. If you scored 100 points in the previous game and had some problems, the captain and coach should give you the option of not practicing, you can say, “If you don’t want to go to practice, so be it.” Similarly, in bowling, if he has bowled about 20 or 30 overs and feels pain in his shoulder or something, the captain and coach can give the bowler the option of not coming to practice.”
“It is unacceptable to give a player a choice. Such a choice should not exist. Only the captain and coach should make that decision. That has affected Indian cricket. The numbers are incredible,” added Gavaskar.
Surprisingly, the Indian cricketer had plenty of time in between especially after his second warm-up against New Zealand his game was washed out without bowling a ball.
“At the beginning of the tournament? Halfway through the tournament, you were in the swing of things and you did well, so give everyone a break. But any practice at the start of the tournament?
“Maybe Everyone will come (to practice) the night before the game. But that’s not all. I want to show solidarity for this purpose, see, we want to win. If it will be raining tomorrow? Then the practice is gone,” Gavaskar added further.
If we can discuss the training sessions in India, Captain Rohit Sharma was the center of attention. The veteran opening batsman batted left-arm pacers and tried to play as straight as possible. Perhaps he had in mind the delivery from Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, who dismissed him for the Golden Duck in the final edition of the tournament.
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