Without taking specific names, Sunil Gavaskar has taken a shot at senior Test players who have been picked for the West Indies series from which he claims Indian cricket will not gain anything.The BCCI named a largely similar squad for the West Indies tour that was also sent to England for the ICC World Test Championship final which they lost by a heavy margin.Cheteshwar Pujara (dropped), Umesh Yadav (possible injury) and Mohammed Shami (rested0 are the only three names who haven’t been picked for the tour.
“West Indies are no more the force they were in the last century as can be seen by the fact that they are currently playing in Zimbabwe to try and qualify for the ODI World Cup that they won twice in the 70s. So picking some younger players for the Test series would have made more sense,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
Gavaskar claims the series will only help in the senior players boosting their individual numbers.“What is Indian cricket going to learn by picking the same seniors for the two Test matches who have now failed to deliver in two World Test Championship finals. How does it even matter if they score heaps of runs and take a bunch of wickets in the Caribbean apart from it bulking up their individual career stats,” he wrote.
Gavaskar says the West Indies tour was a bright opportunity to give the senior members an extended break considering there’s an ODI World Cup to be played in a few months’ time.
“More importantly, the seniors who are certainties for the World Cup in October could have done with a bit of rest after the busy season they have had over the last six months. With the World Cup in mind, they should focus only on white-ball cricket and prepare for what promises to be an exciting World Cup,” Gavaskar said.
