Sunil Gavaskar said India will need to take some firm decisions after crashing to their second successive innings defeat, losing the five-Test series 3-1 against England at The Oval.
Batting in their second innings after conceding a 338-run to England, India were shot out for 94 in 29.2 overs, after losing eight wickets in a session. Gavaskar, who had defended the Indian team, citing inexperience and youth, was less forgiving on Sunday, and urged the powers-that-be to take some tough calls.
“Even till two days, I was defending the team. But you see them today; they have made the same mistakes over and over again. It means the team is not learning. Do they care about it? I don’t know. Most of these players have played in South Africa, New Zealand and England. How much of a rope do you give a young player. I think somewhere down the line some firm decisions have to be taken. I don’t know if they will be taken,” said Gavaskar after India’s innings and 244-run defeat.
Gavaskar said teams remain successful because of their ability to take tough decisions when they are down in the dumps: “One of the reasons why Australia have clawed back to the top spot is that they take tough calls and that is the need of the hour for India.”
Gavaskar for his part suggested that India stopped playing Test cricket altogether for while. He said the A squads should be sent overseas for two month long tours to prepare young players for the challenges of top drawer cricket
However, Gavaskar did not remain too optimistic about any changes in the setup, despite a hat-trick of embarrassing defeats. The coach Duncan Fletcher has drawn the ire of former cricketers and the media in the past, but the BCCI responded by extending his contract till the 2015 World Cup in Australia. The former England coach has done precious little as India continue to hit new lows in every overseas tour.
“Nothing is going to change. Certainly nothing is going to change till the end of the World Cup. So there really is no point talking about it,” said Gavaskar.
