Gavaskar stresses the need for batsmen to play as late as possible in English conditions, allowing swing and avoiding errors of reaching
Post Date – 10:30 PM, Wednesday – 5/31/23
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New Delhi: Batting guru Sunil Gavaskar believes that Indian batsmen will have to work hard to control bat speed in order to transition from the fast-paced T20 format to Test cricket as they face Australia in the upcoming World Test Championship final on June 7. Day in oval.
Gavaskar stressed the need for batsmen to play as late as possible in English conditions, allowing for swing and avoiding the mistake of reaching for the ball.
“I think they’ll look at their batting speed. Coming from a very fast batting T20 to test cricket that has to be more controlled batting speed, that’s what they need to do. They need to play as late as possible in England The ball, making the swing work instead of reaching for the ball, which is often the mistake a lot of people make, thinking they’re playing on a good course,” Gavaska said on Star Sports’ “Follow the Blues.”
“Wherever you hit a good ball, you tend to go across the line, not necessarily half-volleys, but in England, those passes can move a little bit. So, I think those are the things you need to be aware of as a batsman .As a bowling unit, you also need to bowl longer for your new ball so the bowler can move in the air and after the pitch,” he added.
The former India captain also highlighted the challenges the Indian team will face playing in British conditions, including cloudy skies and wobbly air, as well as aspects unfamiliar to players from India, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
“I think the conditions in England are challenging because first of all we are used to playing with the sun behind our backs. When you play in England, you often play without the sun, it’s a bit overcast, it’s a bit cooler, so you Pullovers sometimes. That’s you know, Indian players, West Indian players and Sri Lankan players aren’t really used to it, so it might just be a little bit of a damper, a little bit of light, but you just feel a little blocked,” he said.
So, it’s a thing because in this case the ball tends to swing in the air, not just after the delivery, which doesn’t happen in India, so the swing in the air sometimes takes you some time to get used to and That’s why when you go overseas, it’s usually suggested that you should play two or three warm-up games, which will give you a better idea of what you’re going to get when you go to test games,” he added.
The 73-year-old thinks Cheteshwar Pujara can offer some valuable insight to a team going through the conditions of The Oval.
“The fact that he’s around means he’ll also see how the pitch plays at the Oval. He might not have played at the Oval, he might be in Sussex, not far from London, but he’ll be close. Focusing on what’s going on, his input will be invaluable as far as the batting unit is concerned, even the skipper is worried,” Gavaskar said.
“As far as the oval is concerned, he’s going to have the captain here, don’t forget he’s also the captain of the team, so he’s definitely going to be strategizing a lot because Australian Steve Smith is his teammate on the pitch at all times,” he added.
