India can find right balance before World Cup - Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar has said that India have enough tournaments before the World cup to strike a balance in the one-day side
Jamie Alter in Mumbai
29-Sep-2006
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With a dramatic slump in one-day form, India have come under widespread
criticism for shuffling the batting order and
failing to chase even small targets. Sunil Gavaskar, however, has
cautioned against hitting the panic button and believed there were enough
opportunities before next year's World Cup for the side to find the
correct groove.
"There will be lots of tournaments to go before the World Cup, and I think
India can find that right balance," Gavaskar said at the eighth
annual Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence in Mumbai. "There's the
Champions Trophy, the tour to South Africa, and some one-day
internationals in January-February. There's plenty of scope for the core
of the team as well as the little pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to fall into
place."
In Gavaskar's opinion, one of the most important aspects to India's
success during the Champions Trophy and next year in the Caribbean was
spin. "I would imagine that the spinners have always been our strength.
Spinners have won many more matches for India than have the seam bowlers,"
he said. "That said, having good quality seam bowlers who can use the new
ball is always a big plus. If they can get the first two or three batsmen
out, it makes it easier for the other bowlers to come through. Harbhajan
Singh has shown in Kuala Lumpur recently how well he bowls. He's even done
that in the West Indies, and in the past. Spin would have to play a key
role in our plans in any future events."
Gavaskar cited Piyush Chawla, the gifted Uttar Pradesh legspinner and
Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year winner, as a prime example of India's
spin tradition. "Piyush Chawla is a young cricketer. He seems to be a very
good learner," he said. "His attitude, his hunger for success is a big
plus. We know that [Anil] Kumble is not going to be around forever, and
Piyush has age on his side, so it makes it that much more crucial that we
nurture someone like Chawla."
"It [legspin] is a very difficult art and we have to therefore be a
little patient with him, nurture him, and probably even play him
alongside Kumble, not necessarily in Test matches but in some form of a
match," Gavaskar added. "Or at least be in the same dressing room. I
think he'll learn a lot being around someone like Kumble - attitude,
bowling to different batsmen, conditions, different pitches and
situations. These are best learnt in the dressing room."
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Gavaskar revealed how he himself learnt from his seniors and said it is a must for
young aspirants to the Indian side. "I used to see the way [Erapalli] Prasanna would
bowl to Ajit Wadekar and Dilip Sardesai. Just watching the way Sardesai
used to handle him was an incredible lesson. Using your feet, being very
light on the feet, trying to convert flighted deliveries into
half-volleys. Wadekar staying put in his crease and then cutting and
pulling anything short. It was fantastic, and any young cricketer getting
the chance to be around top players and being able to see top quality
bowling and batting, will only benefit."
EAS Prasanna, India's greatest offspinner, was felicitated with the
Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award. Chawla, whose consistency at the
domestic and junior levels won him a place in the Indian Test side for the
home series against England earlier this year, pipped other notable talents
to bag his award. Jhulan Goswami, the fastest bowler in women's cricket,
received the Castrol Special Award for her outstanding bowling on the
recent England tour. During the successful tour, Goswami became only the
second Indian, and first woman, to take ten wickets in a Test on English
soil.
"It's fantastic to be in the presence of many of my former colleagues, who
have contributed so much to Indian cricket," Gavaskar said. "We need to
compliment Castrol for recognising the contributions of former Indian
players. At the end of the day, it's the legacy left by the former players
that keeps the game going."
Jamie Alter is editorial assistant of Cricinfo