Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that India’s recent T20I series loss against the West Indies in the five-match T20 series should serve as a wake-up call for them to improve in certain areas. They fought back after losing the first two matches to level the series 2-2 as well. However, a 107-run stand between Nicholas Pooran (47) and Brandon King (85*) along with a stunning bowling effort from the bowlers helped the hosts win.
In his monthly column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote: “The loss to West Indies should not be a dampener. Don’t forget that they have won the ICC T20 World Cup twice, and their players are matchwinners for the different franchises they play for in the IPL. So, they are a top-class T20 team, and there’s no shame in losing to them.”
Meanwhile, the veteran further added that Team India should look for long-term replacements for rested players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as well.
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He added: “It should be a wake-up call, though, to see the areas where India needs to improve to strengthen its side. Some of those who were rested for this series may not be around for too long, so their replacements need to be found pretty quickly too, as the next ICC T20 World Cup is just a year away.”
However, Sunil Gavaskar also stated that the youngsters’ lack of temperament and the absence of senior players made the squad look weak too as well.
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“That said, it would do well to remember that some key regular members of the team had been rested for this series, so it wasn’t the full-strength Indian T20 team. While some performances were good, others were disappointing, raising question marks about the temperament factor. At the highest level, it’s always the temperament that separates the men from the boys, and there can be nothing more testing than an international game,” he concluded.
