Sunil Gavaskar raised questions on Team India’s claim of being the fittest, said- Tired of playing just T20?
India had to face defeat against Australia in the final of the World Test Championship. Many people said that the team lost due to lack of preparation.
After the second consecutive defeat in the final of the World Test Championship, many questions were raised on Team India. Some called it lack of preparation while some said that the workload of the players was not managed. Explaining the reason for the defeat, captain Rohit Sharma himself had said that the team needs at least 20-25 days to prepare for such a match, although veteran batsman Sunil Gavaskar disagrees.
Sunil Gavaskar raised questions
In conversation with Indian Express, Sunil Gavaskar said, ‘What preparation is Rohit Sharma talking about. You have the example of the World Test Championship in front of you. What is this matter of 20-25 days? The team which has now gone to West Indies, that team can beat them by going there a day before. You really talk about preparation. You go 15 days in advance, play warm-up matches. Your main players can be rested but give chance to the players who are in reserve. They don’t get a chance to prove themselves.
Sunil Gavaskar replied on workload
Gavaskar further said, ‘The truth is that the main players of the team do not want to leave early. Because they know that whatever it is, their selection is sure. When he leaves early, talk about workload. You call yourself the fittest team, say that this is the fittest team in the last generation, then how can you break down so soon. How can you have a workload problem in the 20-over format.
Sunil Gavaskar gave example of Kapil Dev
Citing the example of Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar said that a player can remain fit even without going to the gym. The former captain of Team India said, ‘I do not remember that Kapil Dev ever went to the gym. He used to run on the ground. Used to bowl to the top order batsmen and then bat.
Gavaskar pointed out that in IPL bowlers are asked to bowl only 20 balls in the nets while in a match they have to bowl 24 balls. Workload is said to be the reason behind this. Gavaskar says that if you put more balls in the match than practice, then the player will have problems.
