Team India’s performance in the final of the World Test Championship was disappointing. The highly acclaimed batting lineup collapsed in the first session of Day 5, being bowled out for 234 runs. Starting the final day at 164/3, India lost all seven remaining wickets in that session, resulting in a collapse. The downfall began with Virat Kohli attempting a shot at a wide delivery from Scott Boland, leading to a catch by Steve Smith at slips. The remaining six wickets fell quickly, adding only 55 runs to the team’s total.
In the aftermath of the defeat, Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach, faced criticism from former cricketers and his former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh. They discussed various factors that contributed to the loss, with Ganguly highlighting the batting struggles of India’s players in recent years and expressing concerns about their low batting averages.
Ganguly emphasized that only a few batters have managed to maintain an average above 30 in the past couple of years, suggesting the need for a revamped batting order.
However, Dravid explained that the competitive nature of the World Test Championship and the pitch conditions have affected the batting averages of players globally, not just limited to Indian players.
During a chat on Star Sports, Dravid acknowledged that the top five players in the Indian team possess significant experience and have achieved legendary status. He mentioned their victories in Australia and England. However, he also admitted that they had failed to meet the high standards they had set for themselves in the recent match against Australia.
Gavaskar hits back at Dravid
Following the interview, the broadcast shifted to the other side of the pitch, where Sunil Gavaskar was preparing for a separate segment. When the anchor brought up Rahul Dravid’s explanation regarding declining batting averages and asked for Gavaskar’s opinion, the former India captain became visibly angry and insisted that Dravid should focus on his team.
Gavaskar expressed his strong belief that the averages of other players were irrelevant and that the primary focus should be on the Indian team. He expressed deep concern about the declining batting averages of Indian players and questioned why this was happening. He emphasized the need to address the issue and suggested that while players might perform well in India, they encounter difficulties when playing outside the country.
Gavaskar also raised questions about the level of coaching and the lack of thorough analysis regarding the areas where the team is lacking.
“Is the level of coaching not what you require? Is there not much of an analysis about areas where you lack? Honest self-assessment is an absolute necessity after this. One team is going to win, one is going to lose. It’s how you lose, that’s the thing. That hurts,” Gavaskar said.
“We have also been knocked out. And we have been miserable. You cannot say that the current lot is beyond criticism. You have to be analytical about what happened out there. Was our approach right? Was our selection right? You can’t brush this under the carpet,” Gavaskar added.
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