Legendary Indian cricketer and former captain Sunil Gavaskar has shared his thoughts on how Team India should approach their upcoming Test series in England. The series, which starts on June 20 in Leeds, will see India face England in five red-ball matches, with venues including Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester, and The Oval.

Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, has expressed his desire for the team to avoid the mistakes made during the recent Test tour of Australia. He believes that India must adopt a more disciplined and focused approach ahead of their England tour. In his latest column for Sportstar, the 75-year-old batting legend emphasized that Team India should arrive in England as a unified group, rather than in separate batches as they did in Australia.

“The mistakes that were made in Australia should not be repeated. The team should arrive in England in one group and not in four batches as was done in Australia,” Sunil  Gavaskar wrote. He acknowledged that players recovering from injuries could join the team later but insisted that the leadership group should lead by example and arrive first. “The leaders must be the first to arrive to make a statement that the team is ready for battle,” he added.

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With India missing out on a spot in the World Test Championship final, Gavaskar pointed out that this presents the team with an extra week to acclimatize to English conditions.

“Now that India hasn’t qualified for the WTC final, there’s an additional week for the team to acclimatise by playing some practice games,” he noted. He stressed the importance of playing practice matches to prepare for the swinging and seaming conditions in England, as merely practicing in nets wouldn’t provide the same mental preparation. “Never mind if the opposition for practice matches isn’t top class; the runs scored and wickets taken in a match will boost the confidence considerably,” Sunil Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar also advised the Indian selectors to keep the squad size manageable, suggesting a limit of 16 players for the England tour.

“It was understandable to some extent to have a large squad of around 20 for Australia, as it is not an easy place to reach, and the body clock does take a few days to adjust to the local time zone. This is not so much of a problem in England,” he said. However, he warned that carrying more than 16 players would send a negative signal, implying indecision from the selectors. “Still, carrying more than 16 players will indicate the selectors are unsure, and that’s never a good sign,” he explained.

Lastly, Gavaskar addressed the issue of practice during the tour. With breaks between Test matches, he stressed the need to maximize these gaps for practice games.

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“There will be some gaps between the Test matches, and these need to be utilised for practice games,” he said. He also criticized the growing trend of optional practice sessions, emphasizing that only the coach and captain should have the authority to decide who gets time off. “This recent tradition of optional practice should be done away with,” he stated, urging a more disciplined approach to preparation.

Gavaskar’s words reflect his deep understanding of the game and his desire for India to learn from past mistakes as they aim to perform well in England later this year.