"You Just Need To...": Sunil Gavaskar Faces Internet's Ire After 'Foot-Licking' Comment On Gautam Gambhir Backers

08.10.2024 - 13:15 sports.ndtv.com

Former Indian cricket team captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar is facing the ire of social media users after a rather strong opinion on the aggressive approach of the Indian cricket team in the second Test against Bangladesh.

In that match the Rohit Sharma-led India batted aggressively, sometimes going over 8 runs per over, and extracted a result out of teh game even though over two days were lost due to rain.

After the match, the term 'Gamball' went viral, referring to Gambhir's approach as new India coach. It was a derivative of the word 'Bazball' referring to England's changed approach under coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum.

However, Gavaskar said in a column that rather than terming it 'Gamball', the approach should be called 'Gohit' referring tp skipper Rohit's influence. "Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality.

cricket India Cricket Team Rohit Sharma Gautam Gambhir Sunil Gavaskar Usa India Bangladesh

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar refused to put the blame on head coach Gautam Gambhir after the Test series loss New Zealand on Saturday. India suffered a first series loss at home after 12 years as New Zealand took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series after winning the Pune Test by 113 runs. India captain Rohit Sharma's approach was heavily criticised by fans and experts, while head coach Gambhir also faced flak on social media. However, Sanjay Manjrekar also opined that the blame of this loss cannot be put on the shoulders of Gambhir as the coach has a "minimal influence on the team".

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India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir faced plenty of criticism as they replaced Kuldeep Yadav with Washington Sundar in the team's playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand. Even India legend Sunil Gavaskar criticised the decision while commentating on the match but Sundar went on to prove everyone wrong. The off-spinner picked up 7 wickets in the innings, with Ashwin claiming the other three as New Zealand were bowled out for 259. With Sundar playing pivotal role for India with the ball, Gambhir couldn't keep calm at the innings break.

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