Following India’s humiliating six-wicket loss on Friday against England in Pune, former India opener Sunil Gavaskar came down hard on the team selection. Gavaskar reckoned that Krunal Pandya – who conceded 72 runs in six overs – cannot be the fifth bowler for the side and suggested that they could have played Yuzvendra Chahal on ”such” pitches.
“I will say the Indian bowling was probably a little weak because Krunal Pandya cannot be your fifth bowler, he cannot be a bowler who bowls 10 overs. You need a bowler like Yuzvendra Chahal on such pitches, who can bowl 10 overs,” Gavaskar told on Star Sports.
Adding further, Gavaskar said that the Pandya brothers together can bowl 10 overs in the next match and win it, but the side will have to start thinking about their fourth, fifth and sixth bowling options.
“Pandya brothers can bowl 10 overs together but if the Indian team has to perform well and win the next match they will have to think a lot about their fourth, fifth and sixth bowlers,” Gavaskar added.
Hailing Ben Stokes (99 off 52) and Jonny Bairstow (124 off 112 balls) for taking the Indian bowlers to the cleaners, Gavaskar reckoned the story may have been different had Yuzvendra Chahal or Kuldeep Yadav featured in the XI for the second ODI.
“There was no pressure on Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. If the Indian team had a spin bowler, like Yuzvendra Chahal or Ravindra Jadeja, the story might have been different,” Gavaskar added further.
After losing the ODI opener on Tuesday by 66 runs, the tourists came back strong to gun down a mammoth 336 with 39 balls still left and six wickets in the tank.
With the thumping win, England set up a mouthwatering decider on Sunday. The tourists have lost the Tests and the T20I series, they would look at the decider as some sort of consolation before leaving the country.