Gavaskar insisted the captain should not have to hide three or four substandard fielders on the field.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged the BCCI to implement structural changes rather than taking extreme, reactionary measures following India's recent T20I debacles on the tour of UK.
While the Men in Blue lost the series 2-0 to Ireland, they failed to win any of the four completed T20Is against England.
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar highlighted that while the results were deeply disappointing, the team management should isolate specific, fixable technical and tactical flaws rather than engaging in a complete overhaul.
Gavaskar recommended increasing boundary sizes across Indian domestic grounds to better prepare players for overseas conditions.
“It’s absolutely imperative, when the new Indian season begins, to get the boundary sizes increased so that our batters get used to that before the World Cup next year. At virtually every ground, there is plenty of space for people to walk behind the LED advertising boards, so it tells you that if this space is utilised, the boundary size will automatically increase,” Gavaskar wrote.
He also stressed the importance of playing smart cricket, advising batters to identify top bowlers to play out safely while targeting weaker bowling options.
“There is a lot of hard work ahead for the team. A good, honest reflection on what the shortcomings were and how to overcome them is the need of the hour. Shot selection is very important, and here the batter has to rein in his ego and not try to live up to an image, but play the ball on its merits,” Gavaskar stated.
“Above all, it’s necessary to play smart cricket. So, figure out the bowler who doesn’t need to be counter-attacked. Then target the bowlers against whom you can make up for the quiet over from the better bowler,” he added.
The 1983 World Cup winner insisted that average fielders must be "shown the door", saying the captain should not have to hide three or four substandard fielders on the field.
“Most of all, it’s mandatory that if a player is an average fielder, he has to be shown the door. There is simply no way a captain has to hide three or four players, hoping the ball won’t go anywhere near them. The bowlers also must look at the slow bouncer once again and see how cleverly Sam Curran used the slow, loopy deliveries,” Gavaskar said.
“As I said, there’s no need to press the emergency button as yet. However, there’s plenty of honest introspection needed. There also has to be a lot more thought put into the execution of each individual’s speciality if the Indian team is to get back to winning ways,” he remarked.