Sunil Gavaskar Rues Lack Of No. 4 In 2019 World Cup Loss

Sunil Gavaskar was of the opinion that the lack of a proper no.4 batsman was one of the major reasons for India’s loss in World Cup 2019 semi-final. India were reduced to 92/6 during the 2019 World Cup semis against New Zealand but fought till the very end finally losing the match by 18 runs. Ravindra Jadeja who scored 77 and MS Dhoni who scored 50 stitched a seventh-wicket 116 run partnership but it all ended with the former getting caught while the later was run out as India lost last 4 wickets within 13 runs.

The match also turned out to be the legendary wicket-keeper MS Dhoni’s last international performance for the Men in Blue as he retired at 39 years of age from international cricket on Independence Day,2020. Former skipper and one of the greatest openers in Test history Sunil Gavaskar rued that lack of a proper no.4 batsman during the 2019 World Cup hurt India most and could have been the reason behind India losing the mega event.

Sunil Gavaskar Says A Captain Is Rated By Winning World Events

The commentator was recently asked how India lost the 2019 World Cup despite being so close to the trophy. He was also asked about the capabilities of Virat Kohli as a captain keeping in mind the three World Cups-T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 and also 2023 ODI World Cups coming his way in the next three years. Sunil Gavaskar emphasized on the fact that a skipper needs to win world class tournaments to be considered as great captain.

“Agree with you. I think a captain is actually defined by the World Championships or World Cups that he wins. You can win the Asia Cups, which is fantastic but you also want to win the World Cup because that is where your standing as a captain is actually going to be enhanced,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying during a conversion show ‘Inspiration’ on India Today. 

Virat Kohli leads from the front and became the fastest player to score 10,000 ODI runs and averages 50 across all formats. In Tests he has been India’s most successful captain winning 33 matches.

Sunil Gavaskar Spoke That Middle Order Have Got Limited Opportunity As The Openers

Sunil Gavaskar spoke about the fact that India’s top-order mostly led by Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan,Virat Kohli and KL Rahul has been destructive and influential over the past few years which have ensured limited opportunities for the middle-order to spend time in the field. In case the top-order batsmen are dismissed early, the batsmen thereafter looks helpless.

“What I feel is India’s top 3 batting lineup is such a fabulous batting lineup that often it has happened that Nos. 4 and 5 at the initial stages of the World Cups haven’t really got an opportunity to play long innings, to get their eye in, to feel the ball in the middle of their bat.”

He concluded by stating his opinion that India did lack proper no 4 during 2019 World Cup as India tried KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant in the no.4 batting order but none of them utilized the opportunity.

Rishabh Pant scored 4 in the previous match before semis against Sri Lanka but India won after twin centuries from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma but scored 48 in the match against Bangladesh. He scored 32 in India’s loss against England while Vijay Shankar made 14 against West Indies and 29 against Afghanistan. Hardik Pandya batted at no.4 vs Pakistan and scored only 26 and 48 against Australia. KL Rahul played at no.4 and scored 26 against South Africa.

“I think we made a mistake by not having a proper No.4 for the 2019 World Cup. If we had a proper No.4 for the World Cup, then it might have been a completely different story.”

Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal were drafted into the squads after injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar but both of them did not have the opportunity to perform. Ambati Rayudu announced retirement soon after being ignored by the national selectors and expressed his disappointment by not being called upon even as a substitute.