Sunil Gavaskar urged Indian cricket fans to show some patience and not demand instant success from the duo of India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and the newly-appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer.
The Mumbai batter was appointed captain of the Indian team in the shortest format ahead of the two-match T20I series against Ireland. However, he didn’t have the kind of start he would have envisaged, as India lost both games to suffer a first-ever series defeat to Ireland.
While Iyer and the rest of the Indian team are receiving criticism for the dismal performance, Gavaskar stated that Gambhir and Iyer will have to be given some time to assess things.
“With any new relationship, there will always be just a little time taken for both to understand the support staff and the playing staff to understand what is expected of them. It will probably take a little (more) time, and so we just have to be a little patient with that,” Gavaskar told reporters in an interaction organised by Sony Sports.
When it comes to international cricket, it is a whole different ball game: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar opined that while Shreyas has an impressive record as captain in the T20 format, helping teams win trophies and reach the knockouts, translating that success into international cricket is not very easy. Shreyas has taken Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the finals of the IPL, while helping the Kolkata Knight Riders clinch the coveted title. He will look to bring the Indian team back to winning ways during the impending five-match T20I series against England.
“Shreyas Iyer’s leadership has been proven over the years in the T20 format. We have seen him win trophies, and get teams into the knockouts and finals. But again, when it comes to international cricket, it is a whole different ball game. We see that where the individuals are brilliant at say, the Ranji Trophy level or the First-Class level, but somehow find that step up to the international level just a little bit tough to contend with,” Gavaskar said.
“We just have to wait and see as far as Shreyas Iyer is concerned, this was just the first two games. Yes, it is a loss (against Ireland) which is hard to take. But let’s be a little patient and see how it goes in the next five games in England,” he added.
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Author: adreejkumarmitra
