Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the BCCI selectors for not trying out some youngsters in the recent India vs West Indies Test series which resulted in the Rohit Sharma-led side winning the series 1-0 as they dominated the first match in Dominica.
They were ahead in the second Test in Trinidad as well, but rain played spoilsport on day five which was washed out with India needing 8 wickets and West Indies needing 289 runs to win.
For India, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, on his Test debut, hit centuries. And R Ashwin picked 12 wickets in the first match and Mohammed Siraj picked a fifer in the Trinidad Test.
However, Sunil Gavaskar wondered about the purpose behind these runs scored by Kohli and Rohit. The former India captain was visibly upset to see the established names getting preference over youngsters such as Sarfaraz Khan and reiterated his point by questioning the selectors again.
"The runs scored by Rohit and Kohli against this West Indies attack begs the question what did the selectors learn that they didn't know already? Wouldn't it have been better to try out some youngsters and see how they take to Test cricket or is it that the selectors don't want any sort of challenge from the younger lot to the established players," he wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
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"Now that Ajit Agarkar has come on board as the Chairman of the selection committee let's see if there is going to be any change in the approach to building a team for the future or if it's going to be the same old story of the Indian team being the bridesmaid but not the bride,” he added.
But in the same vein, Gavaskar was praiseful of Virat Kohli who scored 76 and 121 in the two Tests. The century in Trinidad was his 76th in international cricket and 29th in Test cricket.
Kohli was patient personified as he grinded it out a sluggish surface and helped India to a solid 438. Although the innings had half-centuries from Rohit, Jaiswal, Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli played anchor, and Gavaskar couldn't be any more pleased.
"Kohli didn't miss out as he had in the first Test match and duly got a century. What that showed is that it's not just talent but the ability to understand the opposition, the pitch, and the conditions to get a big score. There are three or four danger areas for a batter.
One is at the start of his innings when he is yet to come to terms with the pitch and get his footwork going, the second is when he has reached a half-century and has lost focus for a brief while as he savors the moment and acknowledges it to the crowd and his teammates, the third is when he is in his 90s when he realises the prospect of getting a century and so can play a rash shot in trying to get there quickly and lose his wicket," Gavaskar added.
"The fourth is after getting a century when there's a sense of achievement and joy that leads to a lapse in concentration. For after getting to a 50, a batter after reaching a century is better off being at the non-striker end for an over or two while his focus comes back. Kohli knew all that and so didn't miss out this time around,” he signed off.
(Mid-day inputs)
