Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels Team India were not impressive on the field during the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, which forced them to see an exit door at the tournament’s semi-final stage as well.
He again shared that India need good fielders who can do well on the field by stopping boundaries, taking catches, and doing runouts as well. In his Mid-Day column, Gavaskar wrote:
“What the World Cup did show for India is that there is nothing like good fielding to be successful in this format of the game.”
“Yes, of course every team needs top batsmen, explosive finishers and skillful bowlers who can withstand the pressure of a relentless opposition but if the team doesn’t have good fielders who will stop the boundaries, take exceptional catches, effect stunning run outs, the team will struggle in crunch games,” he continued.
With several senior Indian players rested for the upcoming T20Is against New Zealand, Sunil Gavaskar feels that youngsters should step up to take over the responsibility from seniors in the T20 format as well. The likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli won’t be available in the white-ball series in New Zealand.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for some of the youngsters in the team to New Zealand to show that they are ready to take over the mantle from the seniors, some of whom will no doubt be considering their future in this format of the game. The thing about this format of the game is that since it’s just a 20 overs a side,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
Hardik Pandya to lead India against New Zealand
However, Hardik Pandya-led Team India are all set to play three T20Is & three ODIs in New Zealand in November. The three-match T20I series will start in Wellington on November 18. The action will then shift to Mount Maunganui (November 20) and Napier (November 22) for the second and third T20Is as well.
India’s squad for T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umran Malik.
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