Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has sang rich praises of the depth in Indian cricket’s red ball pipeline, putting the ongoing England series triumph at home in the same bracket as India’s last Test series win in Australia.
“That’s why I always say, you don’t need big names… If any big name thinks that India won’t win without him these two series have shown that whether you are there or not (it doesn’t matter). Cricket is a team sport. It doesn’t depend on one individual,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
Back in 2020/21, when India toured Australia for a four-match Test series, the visitors faced a humiliating loss in the first Test and had multiple injury problems to their experienced campaigners. Also, the then Test captain Virat Kohli had opted to leave for home after the first Test to be present for the birth of his first child. It was in their absence that protagonists such as Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj emerged to lead India to a 2-1 triumph.
Ahead of the ongoing five-Test series against England, Kohli had also opted out and was recently blessed with a second child. India also missed the presence of Mohammed Shami, who hasn’t played a game for India since the World Cup final owing to an injury. After the first Test, KL Rahul would also be ruled
In their absence, it has been the newcomers who have starred for India. The likes of Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Akash Deep.
“Credit must go to the way captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have managed the team. They gave chances to the young players, moulded them, and encouraged them to play their natural game. This shows that whether we have big names or not, if we have players with big hearts then we can win,” Gavaskar believes.
After losing the first Test in Hyderabad, India emerged victorious in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Ranchi to gain an unassailable lead in the series.