‘Piece of cake at U-19 level is like mud at the senior level’: Sunil Gavaskar offers ‘boys against men’ analogy as India lose T20 collection vs West Indies

After India’s embarrassing loss to West Indies within the fifth and remaining T20, which noticed them lose the collection 2-3, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar had fairly an unforgiving verdict.

India received the Test collection 1-0 and nearly managed to win the ODI collection 2-1. The T20I collection nevertheless was a real wake-up name. India misplaced the primary two video games, earlier than bouncing again to attract degree however within the fifth sport, they suffered an embarrassing eight-wicket loss.

Many rookie stars, together with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Mukesh Kumar have been introduced into the crew. While a couple of of them clicked on a person degree, they didn’t shine as a crew.

The duo of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan – that additionally opened within the ODI collection – opened for the facet within the first two T20Is. However, they might solely add 5 and 16 within the two matches respectively. Ishan was then rested for teen Jaiswal, however barring the fourth T20I the place the duo cast an excellent 165-run stand, it was a disappointment for the facet.

Gavaskar mentioned it’s difficult to transition from dominating on the franchise degree to donning the nationwide colours. He famous that the swap from U19 to the senior crew can be troublesome, utilizing the ‘boys vs men’ analogy.

“A player could do well at the franchise level, but when it comes to playing for the country, it’s a different ball game of pressures and expectations. It is one step up, which can be too steep for even some of the best performers at the franchise level. How often have we seen this when the Under-19 performers just aren’t able to take that one step up from a boys’ tournament to a men’s competition?” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

“Yes, the kids look great playing against kids, but when they come up against the men, they suddenly find that what looks like a piece of cake at the under-19 level is more like mud at the senior level. That’s why so many who looked good at the boys’ level have been found wanting at the senior level. It’s not just the temperament; even the skill set is way below the standard required at the franchise level. Then, having been bought for crores, some of these youngsters lose the fire in the belly and are happy to cruise along in later years and get their contracts extended, even if it is for a lesser amount.”

Gavaskar nevertheless mentioned that the defeat shouldn’t be a dampener..

“The loss to West Indies should not be a dampener. Don’t forget that they have won the ICC T20 World Cup twice, and their players are matchwinners for the different franchises they play for in the IPL. So, they are a top-class T20 team, and there’s no shame in losing to them. It should be a wake-up call, though, to see the areas where India needs to improve to strengthen its side. Some of those who were rested for this series may not be around for too long, so their replacements need to be found pretty quickly too, as the next ICC T20 World Cup is just a year away,” he defined.