Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar’s unflinching remark, saying that head coach Gautam Gambhir deserves no credit for the team’s fabulous win in the recently-concluded Kanpur Test against Bangladesh, where India wrapped up the Test in little of the four sessions after Day 2 and 3 were abandoned due to wet outfield conditions, did not sit well with fans. After Gavaskar’s remark went viral, the internet has been filled with posts lashing out at the India batting legend, who has been asked to give up cricket commentary and punditry.
A draw loomed large after seven sessions were washed out in Kanpur late last month in the second and final Test match of the series between the two Asian sides. The possibility further put pressure on India’s hopes of making the World Test Championship final for the third straight time.
However, India, who reduced Bangladesh to three down for 107 in the 35 overs of action across the first two sessions on Day 1, picked up the remaining seven wickets in quick time after the weather cleared up on Day 4, before taking a lead by 52 runs with a blitzkrieg batting show, led by captain Rohit Sharma.
The Indian attack then folded Bangladesh for just 146 runs by the final afternoon before chasing down the target of 95 runs in just 18 overs, in less than a session, to wrap up an emphatic win, and subsequently scripted a whitewash of 2-0.
Following the win, many credited Gambhir with initiating this batting revolution and aggressive brand cricket, with the word ‘Gamball’ created to describe it. But Gavaskar, in his column for Sportstar on Monday, expressed disappointment at that school of thought and reckoned that Rohit should be credited for it rather than the 2011 ODI World Cup winner, who only joined the Indian team as their head coach in mid-July.
However, Gavaskar’s unflinching take drew criticism from Indian fans on social media, who held no punches in asking the former India captain to ‘keep quite and retire.’
What did Sunil Gavaskar exactly say?
Gavaskar labelled supporters of Gambhir as ‘foot-lickers,’ as he explained that the former India opener himself never batted in that aggressive fashion back in his playing days and hence it would be unfair to use the word ‘Gamball.’
He said: “While one paper called the Indian batting ‘Bossball’ because the captain or ‘boss’ of the team, Rohit, had shown the way, some from the old powers referred to it as ‘Gamball’ after the Indian coach, Gautam Gambhir.
“While the England batting approach changed completely under the new regime of Ben Stokes and McCullum, we have seen over the last couple of years that Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well. Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else.
“Instead of using the words this-ball or that-ball, I would suggest using the skipper’s first name, Rohit, and term it the ‘Gohit’ approach. Hopefully, brainier people will come up with a trendier name for this rather than the lazy option of calling it after ‘Bazball’.”
