“Loud Talking”: Sunil Gavaskar questions England’s strategy, applauds Team India
Overview:
Gavaskar, known for his straightforwardness, wished that Shubman Gill would have responded more assertively after the result.
A draw that feels like a win. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill’s resilience, followed by Jadeja and Sundar’s defiance, helped India secure a miraculous draw in the 4th Test at Manchester, keeping the series alive. A win at The Oval in three days will level the series 2-2. England dominated for most of the match, but their decision to bat for so long ultimately cost them the win, according to Sunil Gavaskar.
Gavaskar praised India’s gritty second-innings batting but criticised England’s tactics. He pointed out England’s hypocrisy, referencing Stokes’ comment after the second Test in Birmingham, where he had said, ‘Even if they had given us 600, we would have gone for it.’ The failure at Edgbaston and certain comments clearly irritated Gavaskar.
“Am I satisfied? No, I’m proud. I’m incredibly proud of this team for what they’ve achieved. Just four wickets fell. Whether the pitch was good or flat, they held their ground under pressure. A question could be raised: Did England bat too long before declaring? When India gave England 600-plus runs to chase in Birmingham, some English players said, ‘India were scared, which is why they gave us 600 runs.’ But I also recall earlier when England were in India, some of their players said, ‘Give us 600 runs, we’ll chase anything.’ Well, India did that, but England still fell 336 runs short. So that’s just bravado, a bit of loud talking,” he said on the Sony Sports Network.
Gavaskar, known for his straightforwardness, wished that Shubman Gill would have responded more assertively after the result and perhaps added some extra pressure on England. Unfortunately for Gavaskar, Gill missed India’s post-match press conference, but Gavaskar firmly believed that had he been there, he would have asked Stokes some tough and uncomfortable questions.
“Shubman Gill… if he were at the press conference, I’d like him to ask, ‘Why did you take a 311-run lead? Why not settle for 240 or 250? After Ben Stokes got his century, why didn’t you declare and give your bowlers an extra hour to try and take more wickets?’ I know he won’t ask, he’s too nice a guy. He’s not the same SG as before. The old SG would have definitely asked, and I’m asking it now,” he added.
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