Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar feels that Indian team management and selectors should have given youngsters more chances in the West Indies tour starting on June 12. Indian team has named a full-strength squad for the Caribbean tour apart from resting Mohammed Shami from the series.
Men in Blue has called up Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mukesh Kumar in the squad, with an eye on the future, but the team management is expected to play a full-strength team for the ODI Series to prepare for the Asia Cup 2023 and ODI World Cup 2023.
Sunil Gavaskar believes that the West Indies team is not a force to reckon with at the moment, as the team has failed to qualify directly for the ODI World Cup in India, despite being the powerhouse of Cricket in the 19th century, and feels that picking some more youngsters in the team would have made more sense in the Indian team and added that the senior players scoring run in the two-match series are not going to make difference in the team.
“West Indies are no more the force they were in the last century as can be seen by the fact that they are currently playing in Zimbabwe to try and qualify for the ODI World Cup that they won twice in the 70s. So picking some younger players for the Test series would have made more sense,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
“What is Indian cricket going to learn by picking the same seniors for the two Test matches who have now failed to deliver in two World Test Championship finals? How does it even matter if they score heaps of runs and take a bunch of wickets in the Caribbean apart from it bulking up their individual career stats.”
Except for Ajinkya Rahane, entire Indian batters failed in the final against the formidable Australian bowling attack, as they failed to score runs in both innings, of which only Pujara has been dropped from the squad with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat, And Shubman Gill retaining their spots in the team.
With The World Cup In Mind, They Should Focus Only On White-ball Cricket – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar feels that Indian seniors could have rested for the West Indies series, keeping the ODI World Cup in mind later this year, as they need to be fresh for the marquee event in the country and reckons that the players have been playing cricket continuously in the last six months.
“More importantly, the seniors who are certainties for the World Cup in October could have done with a bit of rest after the busy season they have had over the last six months. With the World Cup in mind, they should focus only on white-ball cricket and prepare for what promises to be an exciting World Cup,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
Many cricket experts and fans expect India to end their ICC title dry spell in the ODI World Cup later this year in India as the Men in Blue have crumbled under pressure in the crunch moments of the game after winning their ICC title in the 2013 Champions Trophy.