India must strive to improve: Gavaskar

Following India’s <g data-gr-id="32">six wicket</g> loss to South Africa in the second Twenty20 International, legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar advised the men in blue not to get complacent and instead strive to get better in the upcoming matches.

Chasing India’s total of 92, the visitors crossed the line with six wickets in hand, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Cuttack on Monday. The last match of the T20 series will be played at the Eden Gardens on October 8. 

The T20 series will be followed by a five-match One-Day International series starting from October 11.

“My honest advice to Indian players is not to get complacent. They must strive to get better,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by a news channel on Tuesday.

The former India captain pointed out that young spinner Axar Patel has been rushed into international cricket too soon and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni should play the experienced Amit Mishra instead.

“Amit Mishra could have been tried as M.S. Dhoni had no confidence in Axar Patel. I think <g data-gr-id="33">Axar</g> is being rushed into international cricket too soon,” he said.

The second T20 was marred by the unruly crowd as they threw plastic bottles <g data-gr-id="44">on to</g> the field, forcing <g data-gr-id="29">stoppage</g> of play for quite some time.

Gavaskar slammed the crowd and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to suspend the venue from hosting international matches for the next couple of years.

“Cuttack should not be given an international match for the next couple of years. As a deterrent, the BCCI must also stop the subsidy to the Odisha Cricket Association,” he said.

“Do the crowd throw valuables when the team does well? When the team does badly, the fans have no business to throw rubbish,” Gavaskar concluded.