India vs England: Gavaskar to Naseer Hussain, read veteran cricketers’ advise for team India after losing 1st Test

After India registered a close defeat by 31 runs against England in the first Test match at Birmingham, many veteran cricketers gave various advices to the Indian team. Former cricket legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly, Nasser Hussain, Ian Chappell, Mike Brearley and Trevor Bayliss shared their opinions on India’s performance in the first Test.

Sunil Gavaskar called the lack of preparation as the primary reason behind India’s defeat. Gavaskar told ‘India Today’ channel that lack of serious practice ahead of Birmingham game affected Indian team dearly as their poor technique was thoroughly exposed. He said that Indian team played only eight days of competitive cricket ahead of Test series which included 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against England, and 2 ODIs vs Ireland. According to Gavaskar, this resulted in lack of practice ahead of the Test.

Gavaskar said that Indian team was given a five-day break after the ODI series, which was too long. Gavaskar felt that the team should not be given such a long break. “I can understand that you need to switch off after a series but that can’t be five days at a stretch. It can be three plus three day breaks between matches but not five days,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar was also critical of Indian team for changing an official first-class game into a practice session in the name of warm-up game with all 18 players taking part. “They should have played at least two three-day games and proper first-class games. Not 18 players but 11 players. They should have prepared in such a manner to give themselves a chance in the Test match”.

Former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly advised skipper Virat Kohli to not change the playing XI after defeat in the first Test against England. On his Instagram account, he posted, “One criticism for @Virat.Kohli is that he should give a consistent run to his batters & more time before dropping them. The failure against swing in English conditions can’t be used as an excuse any more as everyone knows that it’s what you get when you come to England. The captain should give confidence to his players. It’s his team & only he can change their mindset. He will have to sit with them & tell them that if he can do it so can they. He should give them time & tell them to go out & play without any fear”, he further said.

Ganguly also urged Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane to bat with more determination. He wrote, “Ajinkya Rahane & Murali Vijay will have to show some determination since they have scored runs in these conditions before”.

Former England cricketer Ian Chappell advised that Hardik Pandya can learn from Ben Stokes. “Hardik might still be a work in progress but he could take a cue from Ben Stokes’ bowling during the ongoing series, which could prove to be a defining one in the all-rounder’s career”, Chappell said in his column on ESPN Cricinfo.

He also said that Pandya should be batting at No 6 in the current Indian batting line-up. “Perhaps a move to No 6 would further bolster his batting confidence and if he can also profit from watching Stokes’ efforts with the ball, this could be a defining series for the talented all-rounder,” Chappell said.

He also lauded Virat Kolhi for his century and compared his innings to Stan McCabe’s epic double hundred during the 1938 Ashes. In his column, Chappell paid glowing tribute to Indian captain Virat Kohli, comparing his Edgbaston hundred to Stan McCabe’s epic double hundred during the 1938 Ashes, which even made Sir Don Bradman give a standing ovation. “It was a similar dominance near the end of Stan McCabe’s glorious double-century at Trent Bridge in 1938 that caused Captain Don Bradman to summon his players onto the balcony with the words; ‘You will never see anything like this again.’” Chappell wrote.

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain blamed Indian captain Virat Kohli for the loss and said that Kohli, the captain, should be blamed for the defeat in the first Test. “Kohli was phenomenal in this game. He deserved to be on the winning side for the way he played with the tail. He single-handedly brought India back into the Test match. I do think he should take some of the responsibility for the loss, though,”

He also praised England bowler Sam Curran and said that his performance was the key reason behind England’s victory.  “Curran changed the course of two innings. He came on with India 50-0 and pitched it up, swung it and got four for nothing and he then went in with England 87-7. With the ball, Curran was superb too, returning career-best figures of 4/74 in the first dig to shave off India’s top order”, Hussain told Sky Sports.

Another England former cricketer Mike Brearley said that Birmingham Test will be a learning experience for Virat Kohli. “This Test (loss) will be a learning experience for Kohli. It will make things a lot easier. There is intensity about this Indian team, about their bowling attack, and I think some of that comes from Kohli too. On occasion, it can make people nervous I dare say, but on the whole, it animates them,” he added.

He also said that Joe Root is not quite as good as Virat Kohli but is still a thoughtful bloke.  “Root has a poorer conversion rate in comparison to Kohli. But I think Root is a fine batsman too and I like seeing him do well. He is different – a brilliant batsman and quite intelligent. He is not quite as good as Kohli but is still a thoughtful bloke,” Brearley said.

Brearley was also all praise for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. He said, “I think Kohli is best in the world and anyone who averages 50-plus in all three formats must be a very, very fine player. He can play in every mode and so can Joe Root. But there is something ruthless about Kohli and he converts all those fifties into hundreds,” Brearley told PTI.

England present coach Trevor Bayliss said he expected Indian team to quickly learn from their mistakes they committed in batting. “India are a very good team. We’re very much in the hunt here. When the ball’s moving, we’ve shown that a few of their guys do struggle against the moving ball. I’m sure that they’ll be going away working out how they can play it as we’re going working on how to play the off-spin,” he said.

With Agency inputs