“We should be mentally prepared for a drubbing in Australia”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Legendary India batsman Sunil Gavaskar has announced that the national team “don’t have it in them to win regularly abroad”.
Gavaskar’s comments come as India are staring down the barrel of yet another Test defeat overseas.
“The Indian players don’t have it in them to win regularly abroad,” Gavaskar told NDTV. “They might win the odd Test but because it is a five-Test series and because of the shortcomings they have, the opposition will be allowed to get back. They will keep winning at home because of the comfort factor. This is a great opportunity lost after beating England at Lord’s to take the series lead.”
Gavaskar was also disgusted with India’s fielding, especially in the slip cordon, as they dropped England captain Alastair Cook twice during his innings of 79.
“The slip cordon is an area of concern because the Indians are not prepared to learn from their mistakes,” he said. “The Indian batsmen are committing the same mistakes, getting out in the same manner. This is a team of talent; some of the players are world class. Errors do creep in, but how you get over them is important.”
India fought back with some quick wickets after the lunch break, but all their hard work was undone when they let Joe Root and Jos Buttler rebuild England’s innings with an 80-run partnership.
“It was not the kind of fightback that would have helped India get back into the game,” he said. “They looked listless in the post tea session when they looked like they were going through the motion. Had they bowled and fielded like they had in the post lunch session, then England could have been restricted to a lesser lead. But now the series has gone out of the bag.”
Gavaskar added that Indian fans should prepare for the worst when the national team head to Australia in December.
“I don’t think you can make too many changes in this current lot,” he said. “We must not go by what happens in the Test series in India. We should be mentally prepared for a drubbing in Australia. Maybe our bowlers will do well and restrict Australia, but I don’t think we have the batting to take on Australia.”