Sunil Gavaskar slams Indian players for taking too much rest while playing international cricket

Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has been left frustrated by Indian players taking rests frequently. Senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies. Both the players recently enjoyed over a month-long break following the conclusion of the IPL and only played on the tour of England. Captain Rohit Sharma even missed the fifth Test because of COVID-19.

Reports have suggested that senior players had asked to be rested before the trip to the Caribbean. As a result, India announced a new-look limited-overs lineup which will be led by opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan.

It goes without saying that Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t impressed by these frequent breaks taken by the national players and he questions their commitment to playing for the national team. The 73-year-old believes that it is a privilege to represent one’s country at the highest level of the sport and it should not be taken for granted.

Contrasting the situation with the Indian Premier League, when players rarely take a rest, Gavaskar spoke about how BCCI can ensure that no player can take advantage of the fact that their place in the team is safe and take it for granted.

“I am absolutely against players taking rest. You can’t rest in IPL, but you want to rest when you play for India? Test cricket takes a toll on your mind and body. But T20s is all about 20 overs of bowling and batting which shouldn’t be difficult. If they want to take a rest, they can, but then all the guarantees should be taken away from them. The board needs to draw a line if they want to be professional,” he told Sports Tak on Monday.

Sunil Gavaskar also had his say on India adopting an ultra-aggressive approach during the latest T20I series against England. Despite wickets falling at the other end, India continued to press on and look for the big shots, especially in the powerplay.

Gavaskar remined how Sri Lankan openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana who first introduced the idea during the 1996 World Cup and changed the way the game is played. While the approach has its own set of risks, the former opening batsman also revealed that he is fine with India looking to employ similar tactics in white-ball cricket.

“There will be days when this tactic may not work, but the amount of success that they will have with this brand of cricket is huge,” he concluded.