Indian players should avoid verbal spats with Aussies, says Sunil Gavaskar

[sachin34357]

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar today advised the Indian team to avoid verbal spats with their Australian counterparts as he feels the country’s cricketers are not as well equipped to deal with sledging as the ones from Down Under. A day after Rohit Sharma got into a verbal spat with Mitchell Johnson while he was batting, the Australian pace spearhead ran through the top half of India’s batting line-up to lead the hosts to a four-wicket win with a day to spare in the second Test in Brisbane. “I think the Indians should not get into verbal spats with the Australians. We in India, even in club level, are not used to chirping. But the Australians, from the very beginning, are getting into these situations regularly. So it’s really water off a duck’s back to an Australian if you have verbal spats with him,†Gavaskar told ‘NDTV’. He added: “On the other hand, as an Indian it will always stay in your mind even if you are dishing it out. If it is staying at the back of your mind then it is counter- productive. So I think giving it back to Australians wasn’t such a smart idea. I know we have talked about being aggressive but that is about aggressive intent. “I am lauding the Australians for the way they tampered the verbal spats in this series, especially after the unfortunate Phil Hughes incident. I think there are trying to turn over a new leaf, and that’s how cricket should be played.†Though India managed to take six Australian wickets in their second innings, Gavsakar, unlike Dhoni, said he was not satisfied with the visiting bowlers’ performance. “I am not quite happy with the Indian bowlers’ performance. I don’t think they exploited the Brisbane pitch that well. Pitches in Australia are normally good for batting on day 3 and 4 but when you let a team off the hook and allow them to score 500 runs then you can’t say that it was good bowling effort.†With the visitors trailing 0-2 in the four-match Test series, possibility of another whitewash in two years looms large, but Gavaskar preferred to be optimistic. “I think what India can hope for is that the Christmas spirit also carries onto the Boxing Day Test match. That will be a good thing for Indian cricket. “I am hoping that Christmas spirit prevails and the Australians are still celebrating Christmas when they take to the field on Boxing day. That might give us a little bit of chance and of course the weather in Melbourne can be very unpredictable. I am optimistic that India will not be whitewashed 4-0 this time.†The third Test is scheduled to be held in Melbourne from December 26-30. Asked about the “unrest†in the Indian dressing room morning following the injured Shikhar Dhawan’s refusal to open the batting, Gavaskar said that can’t be used as an excuse for the defeat. “Let’s not make that as an excuse. A person who has scored a century in his last two innings, he should have been prepared in those seven minutes. As an opener I can say that batsmen get about seven to eight minutes especially if the innings start in the middle of day’s play.†Gavaskar also praised Johnson for his superlative performance with the ball this morning.

http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/indian-players-should-avoid-verbal-spats-with-aussies-says-sunil-gavaskar/99/

[maniac]

People reading too much into this....Johnson bowled on day 3 as well?yes he hit a rythm on day 4 and he can be considered an ATG already for what he has accomplished. Aussies have verbally abused every player....what happens to our superstars?

[gslv]

Yeah now add timidness in the list too. Thanks but no thanks.

[rkt.india]

Aussies are used to it and they don't take it too seriously. It also doesn't affect their game. Indians lose plot when they do it.

[BlueBee]

Lets see what MJ does in 3rd match. I bet he won't take more than 2 in first innings. In 2nd innings the wicket broke down and there was uneven bounce, Even we got 6 of their batsman out.

[Vilander]

lol moronic. You drop 4 catches, 3 decisions go against you...lol

[AmreekanDesi]

Sunil Gavaskar: It was exactly this attitude why the team in your time were sitting ducks whenever we went to play abroad and had such a pathethic record overall in test cricket. Please stick to receiving your paycheck from BCCI and not comment about sledging and bravery

[moniker]

These bunch of morons don't even know how to sledge, they're better off sticking to the task at hand than try their hand at "sledging" and end up looking like total idiots.

[Lannister]

This while Indian team is a joke and you are also a joke, gavaskar. Your commentary sucks big time.

[bulbul]

People reading too much into this....Johnson bowled on day 3 as well?yes he hit a rythm on day 4 and he can be considered an ATG already for what he has accomplished. Aussies have verbally abused every player....what happens to our superstars?

This is not one incident.In first test OZ second innings we are bowling well then suddenly fights started and we lost control. If we dont have skills or timing for sledging we should concentrate on winning matches,that will shut opposition mouth.