‘Indian cricket is the main.. not Indian T20 League’- Gautam Gambhir slams workload management as ‘biggest mistake Indian cricket made’
Team India’s trophy-less decade continues to go on the Men in Blue continues to struggle in world events. With the ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in India this year, all preparations are done with the intent to anyhow win the major title.
Former Team India player and World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir has suggested India build a core and make sure the players play every match prior to the ODI World Cup. He has criticised ‘workload management’ and called it ‘the biggest mistake in Indian cricket’ as players are given frequent breaks.
“They got to play together. I think the biggest mistake that Indian cricket has made in the last two World Cups has been that these guys have not played enough cricket together. Tell me how many times have we got the best playing 11 on the park? We haven’t, only during the World Cup we decided to have the best playing 11, but unfortunately, that was never the best playing 11. So these guys have to play enough of white ball cricket, especially for the 50 overs World Cup together irrespective of whether they want to take a break from the T20 or from the Indian T20 League,” Gambhir said on Star Sports show ‘Road to World Cup Glory.’
Winning the World Cup is far more important- Gambhir
The 41-year-old has also called for the players to take a break from the Indian T20 League if needed but not from international cricket.
“If they want to take a break, people who play more than three formats, they can definitely take a break from T20 cricket, but surely not from the ODI format. If the franchisee has to suffer they have to suffer. Indian cricket is the main stakeholder, not the Indian T20 League. Indian T20 League is just a by-product. So, if India goes out and wins the World Cup, that is the bigger ovation, that is the bigger ring. For example, if an important player does miss the ITL games so be it because ITL happens every year and the World Cup happens only once in four years. So, for me I think winning the World Cup is far more important than winning the Indian T20 League,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir also called for the ‘aggressive approach’ to not be forced upon all the players. He suggested players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma be important for the World Cup as they played spin well.
“I always feel that when we talk about this new approach, which India always talks about, the template and stuff, you’ve got to identify players who can adapt those roles or that template very easily. Some people just cannot adapt to that template so why push them to play in a certain way which doesn’t come naturally to them. So, for me, I think identifying players and at the same time getting the right mix is very important, rather than thinking that we have to play at a certain template so we got to select all the 15 with a similar mindset or with a similar template. I feel people like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and all those guys who can anchor their innings, who probably can play spin really well will play a massive role in the coming World Cup.”
Related Posts
