Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, and batting legend tore into Joe Root’s England after they suffered a 151-run humbling at Lord’s on Monday.
Sunil Gavaskar said the hosts are a “two-man team” who are over-dependent on Joe Root and seasoned pacer James Anderson. He criticized both the batting and bowling departments of England.
Sunil Gavaskar: England Is A 2 Man Team As They Are Overdependent On Joe Root And James Anderson
He stated that the rest of the lineup has an all but ‘awful’ approach, starting with the technically ‘ludicrous’ openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, ‘tentative’ no.3 batsman Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hameed, and the inconsistent duo of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler.
“England is a two-man team. It’s just Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson. With the greatest of respect to all who are playing there, it doesn’t look like a proper Test team… Their technique is awful. The technique of their opening batsmen is ludicrous, ” said Sunil Gavaskar.
“Their no.3 batsman Haseeb Hameed is nervous and tentative. So, we look up to Joe Root. Jonny Bairstow, yes if he gets going or otherwise it’s nothing. Buttler, he is a fine white-ball player. I’m not too sure he is there for red-ball cricket,” said former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
After Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami kicked an Indian defeat out of contention on Day 5, England had to survive just about two sessions on an innocuous pitch to draw the Test. However, they stumbled under pressure and were bowled out for just 120 with more than eight overs still remaining.
Openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley recorded ducks, Sam Curran, a king-pair, and the highest score was once again written beside Joe Root’s name – 33 of 60. Sunil Gavaskar slammed the hosts’ bowling department, while also predicting an outright win for India in the remaining three Tests.
“In bowling, there was just Jimmy Anderson and there was nobody else. Robinson got five wickets in Trent Bridge but it’s really a ‘two and a half men’ kind of a team. That’s why I think India will win the remaining three matches of the series. I had said at the beginning of the series that India should win it 4-0 or 3-1 and I still believe that result is possible if rain doesn’t spoilsport.”
The third of the five-Test series between England and India will start at Headingley in Leeds on August 25.
In the 1st innings, James Anderson claimed 5 for 62 in 29 overs as India crumbled from 276 for 3 to 364 all-out. The veteran pacer claimed his 31st five-for, making him the oldest bowler in 70 years to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match innings. In the 2nd innings, he went wicket-less.
Joe Root has amassed 1277 runs playing 10 Tests in 2021, averaging 57.21, and has hit 5 tons. He scored 228 and 186 against Sri Lanka and hit 218 in the 1st Test against and in India while scoring 109 an unbeaten 180 in the first two successive Tests when India toured England.