Gavaskar okay with unchanged Indian team
28 Nov 2012 7:53 AM IST
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday backed the national selectors for not making changes to the Test squad in the wake of the crushing defeat against England in the Mumbai match, saying it was not required at this stage.
The national selection committee persisted with the same squad for the Kolkata Test. Only Bengal paceman Ashok Dinda was drafted in the squad in place of injured Umesh Yadav. ‘There are quite a few youngsters who are knocking the doors. India could have tried a few younstgers if they were 2-0 up in the series. We can't make wholesale changes, it creates uncertainty...’ Gavaskar told a TV news channel.
‘We have to look at the situations also. The selection committees are not keen to experiement or inject young blood. That has been the trend in the last couple of years and it has not changed,’ he added. Gavaskar further said the biggest bane of Indian side is complacency. ‘Complacency has been the bane of Indian cricket. For decades it has been there, even when I used to play. It has always let us down. When the opposition is 160 for 5 or six, we tend to relax and then the wicket-keeper with tail-enders have added 200 runs. This is what hapened in the first Test and here (Mumbai) as well,’ he said.
The legendary opener said the approach has to be changed in future. ‘The only way is to be a bit ruthless. But it not in our nature to be ruthless.’
As the dicussion veered towards growing pressure on an under-performing Sachin Tendulkar, Gavaskar said there was no need of that kind of talk about a batsman who has done so much for Indian cricket. ‘The way he has been applying himself, you can see he’s applying his mind. In the first innings, he took a leg-stump guard and when he was bowled, he took a middle-stump guard. He’ll comeback.’
The national selection committee persisted with the same squad for the Kolkata Test. Only Bengal paceman Ashok Dinda was drafted in the squad in place of injured Umesh Yadav. ‘There are quite a few youngsters who are knocking the doors. India could have tried a few younstgers if they were 2-0 up in the series. We can't make wholesale changes, it creates uncertainty...’ Gavaskar told a TV news channel.
‘We have to look at the situations also. The selection committees are not keen to experiement or inject young blood. That has been the trend in the last couple of years and it has not changed,’ he added. Gavaskar further said the biggest bane of Indian side is complacency. ‘Complacency has been the bane of Indian cricket. For decades it has been there, even when I used to play. It has always let us down. When the opposition is 160 for 5 or six, we tend to relax and then the wicket-keeper with tail-enders have added 200 runs. This is what hapened in the first Test and here (Mumbai) as well,’ he said.
The legendary opener said the approach has to be changed in future. ‘The only way is to be a bit ruthless. But it not in our nature to be ruthless.’
As the dicussion veered towards growing pressure on an under-performing Sachin Tendulkar, Gavaskar said there was no need of that kind of talk about a batsman who has done so much for Indian cricket. ‘The way he has been applying himself, you can see he’s applying his mind. In the first innings, he took a leg-stump guard and when he was bowled, he took a middle-stump guard. He’ll comeback.’
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