Sunil Gavaskar Backs Star's "Invaluable Inputs" For Indian Batting Unit, Captaincy At WTC Final. It's Not Virat Kohli

01.06.2023 - 13:55 sports.ndtv.com

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Wednesday reckoned Cheteshwar Pujara could provide valuable insights to his Indian teammates ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, having played extensively in the English County Championship.

With Pujara's knowledge and captaincy experience (at Sussex), his inputs could prove invaluable, especially against Australian batter Steve Smith, who is also a part of his county side.

The WTC final is scheduled to be held at the Oval in London from June 7-11. "The fact that he is been around will mean that he will have also seen how the pitch has been behaving at The Oval. "He might not have played at The Oval, he might be in Sussex not too far away from London but he will have kept an eye on what is happening and his inputs will be invaluable as far as the batting unit is concerned or even as far as the captaincy is concerned," Gavaskar told Star Sports. "He will have the captains here as far as the Oval pitch is concerned and don't forget he has also been captaining the team, so he definitely will have worked out quite a few strategies seeing that Steve Smith, the Australian is his teammate at the moment." Gavaskar also said the Indian batters, coming off the IPL, will have to adjust their bat speed ahead of the WTC final, and advised them to play as late as possible. "I think they are going to look at their bat speed.

Coming from T20 where the bat speed is very fast to Test cricket where the bat speeds got to be a lot more control, that is something they'll need to do," Gavaskar told Star Sports.

cricket Australia Cricket Team Steve Smith Virat Kohli Star Sports Sunil Gavaskar Britain Australia London India county Sussex

The Indian cricket team once again failed to perform when it mattered the most, with Australia emerging triumphant by 209 runs in the ICC World Test Championship final. Be it the bowling unit or the batting unit, the players hardly managed to create an impact. India head coach Rahul Dravid understandably had to answer some difficult questions after the match, particularly from his former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh.

"You Can't Be Asking...": Sunil Gavaskar's Blunt Response To Rohit Sharma On '3-Match WTC Final' Demand

After Australia skipper Pat Cummins disagreed with Rohit Sharma's desire to play a three-match series in the next cycle of the World Test Championship final, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has also criticised the India captain for coming up with such a suggestion and stated that every team should be mentally prepared before playing such big events. India lost against Australia by 209 runs in the WTC final at The Oval on Sunday after they were bundled out for 234, in the chase of 444.

"Batting Was In Shambles": Sunil Gavaskar Tears Into India After WTC Final Loss

Australia defeated India by 209 runs in the final of World Test Championship to claim their maiden title. The game was dominated by the Pat Cummins-led side for the majority part and India barely had their moments of joy. Australia posted 469 runs after getting an invitation to bat first. They then bundled India out for 296 runs, taking a first innings lead of 173 runs. Australia declared their second innings at 270 for 8, setting a 444-run target for India. The Rohit Sharma-led side was bundled out for 234 runs and lost the game by 209 runs.

IND vs AUS, WTC Final, Day 4: Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane Keep India In Hunt; Rohit Sharma And Co. Need 280 To Beat Australia

Virat Kohli remained undefeated on 44 as India reached 164 for 3 at stumps on fourth day after Australia set a huge 444-run target in the final of the World Test Championship on Saturday. Kohli and first innings hero Ajinkya Rahane (20 batting) added 71 runs for the fourth wicket as India need to score 280 runs in 90 overs on the final day. Shubman Gill (18), skipper Rohit Sharma (43) and Cheteshwar Pujara (27) were the Indian batters dismissed.

"Won't Be Thumping His Chest When...": Sunil Gavaskar Praises Ajinkya Rahane Post Fifty In WTC Final

After Australia posted 469 runs in their first innings of the World Test Championship final at the Oval, the Indian batters -- except Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur -- struggled to get going. As a result, India were reduced to 152 for 6. Rahane's fighting 89 played a crucial role in helping India post 296 runs from that point. It was the 26th Test fifty for Rahane. Praising the India batter for his knock, legendary player Sunil Gavaskar termed Rahane as a 'low-profile player'.

"What Is Happening?": Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri Slam Mohammed Siraj For 'Ball Throwing' Row During WTC Final

Mohammed Siraj courted controversy on Day 2 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at The Oval when he threw the ball towards Steve Smith's direction in a bizarre incident. Smith started the day on 95 and was able to reach his century with two consecutive boundaries off the pacer's bowling. On the fourth ball of the over, Smith moved away from the stumps just before the ball was bowled due to some issue with the spider cam but Siraj went ahead and threw the ball straight. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar was not pleased with the incident and he made his views clear on commentary.