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Sunil Gavaskar slams India's (lack of) preparation before England Test series

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Critical of the way India prepared for the Test series against England, Sunil Gavaskar says lack of serious practice ahead of the Birmingham game hurt India dearly as batsmen’s poor technique against moving deliveries was thoroughly exposed.

Gavaskar is livid with the fact that India played only eight days of competitive cricket (3 ODIs and T20Is against England and 2 vs Ireland) and that too limited overs before the Test series.

After the ODI series defeat, Indian team was given a five-day break and the players spent time in Europe.

“It was no preparation at all,” Gavaskar told ‘India Today’ channel, referring to the three-day warm-up game.

“I can understand that you need to switch off after a series but that can’t be five days at a stretch. It can be three plus three day breaks between matches but not five days,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar was also critical of Indian team for changing an official first-class game into a glorified practice session in the name of warm-up game with all 18 players taking part.

“They should have played at least two three-day games and proper first-class games. Not 18 players but 11 players. They should have prepared in such a manner to give themselves a chance in the Test match. They cancelled a warm-up game in South Africa and were thrashed in the first two Tests.

“You can have as many match simulations, take throw-downs but in match situations, it is different. While taking throw-downs, you can get out or in nets you can bowl no balls,” said the legendary opener.

Gavaskar also doesn’t like the common notion that Indian team being in England for more than a month was a recipe for success.

“They deluded themselves that they are in England for one month. They played white ball cricket where the bat speed is different from red ball cricket. So there was no preparation at all,” he reasoned.

He also feels that Virat Kohli‘s method of preparation can’t be emulated by one and all in the Indian team.

“Kohli can take 50 days off and then come back and score a hundred next day. He is an exceptional talent and if he takes time off, no issues. But the team management need to understand that others need practice. Like he wanted to play county cricket and skipped the Afghanistan Test. I don’t believe it was a correct decision,” he said.

For the next Test, Gavaskar suggested inclusion of an extra batsman in the playing XI.

“I always believe that in overseas conditions, you need to play an additional batsman. They got to believe in themselves that they can do well. I believe in this team,” he said.

http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/...ff-others-need-practice-sunil-gavaskar-732813
 
Waiting for indian posters to say Gavaskar hates India now...

(context: Holding makes valid criticism, posters say he hates India :))).
 
Gavaskar always provides valid feedback.

I had no idea the players went to Europe. Serves them right.
 
Gavaskar is spot on,India is short on FC preparation.

Pakistan prepared much better before the UK tour and won 2 Tests.
 
Same old excuse after losing the first test. Why don't these ex cricketers cry about practice matches when the scheduled is announced? I said this before the series once we start losing the first excuse will be this. Blame the BCCI and the IPL where you cheerlead. You comeback to your senses once we lose a test. Seriously getting tired of this excuse.
 
Valid comments from a legendary batsman. They key to success in England is to plan your tour better.
 
We played some brilliant cricket in 1st test. Even with our main bowlers out, we got Eng batsman under the brink. We lost this game only due to that drop catch by Dhawan. Yes our batsman played poorly but they will get better as the series progress. Everyone need to calm down a bit and wait for the series to get over.
 
Gavaskar blasting his pal Shastri.. not something you see everyday. I hope someone asks the coach about this in the press conference. :)
 
Also dont forget, Edgbaston is a fortress for England. They have not lost a test there for decades I believe.
 
Same old excuse after losing the first test. Why don't these ex cricketers cry about practice matches when the scheduled is announced? I said this before the series once we start losing the first excuse will be this. Blame the BCCI and the IPL where you cheerlead. You comeback to your senses once we lose a test. Seriously getting tired of this excuse.

THIS. Exactly...LOL.

The schedule was right in front of you Sunil saab. Why cry over spilt milk?
 
India and bcci only care about $. If they can have it their way test series would be a thing of the past and ipl and t20/odi series will be only played.
 
India and bcci only care about $. If they can have it their way test series would be a thing of the past and ipl and t20/odi series will be only played.

That is your perception. Did your hear what Kohli got to say at post match presentation? Test cricket is premier format for him and the team. Also, India plays most number of test cricket after Eng/Aust
#FACT
 
We played some brilliant cricket in 1st test. Even with our main bowlers out, we got Eng batsman under the brink. We lost this game only due to that drop catch by Dhawan. Yes our batsman played poorly but they will get better as the series progress. Everyone need to calm down a bit and wait for the series to get over.
Which is the point of warmup games. You improve BEFORE the test series starts and don't start improving from 1-0 down.
 
Which is the point of warmup games. You improve BEFORE the test series starts and don't start improving from 1-0 down.

Proper warm-ups like what Pakistan did before Eng series or how India used to do during Gavaskar's time, wont be possible in modern Indian cricket. Indian team hardly gets any time off due to back to back cricket so there is no time to squeeze in warm ups. I know it is unfortunate but it is as it is. Just after this 5 test, India plays Asia cup in the heat of UAE. Immediately after that WI touring us and then we fly to Australia and after that to NZ and so on and so forth. In-fact Indian team has no breaks until 2019 WC. So there is no question of having more warm up games added in the tour.
 
Waiting for indian posters to say Gavaskar hates India now...

(context: Holding makes valid criticism, posters say he hates India :))).

U can put all emoticons available but it won't change the context. No one said holding hates India because he criticised India's performance in England. Most people on this forum also criticised that. Problem is holding struggles to say any good thing about India cricket or Indian cricketers. Its true even for WI cricketers. And that's been the case for several years.

PPers like him because he shed a tear for Mohammad amir when he was caught fixing. And I guess also because 2 years back he said sarfaraz Khan should be in world XI instead of ABD :)))
 
We played some brilliant cricket in 1st test. Even with our main bowlers out, we got Eng batsman under the brink. We lost this game only due to that drop catch by Dhawan. Yes our batsman played poorly but they will get better as the series progress. Everyone need to calm down a bit and wait for the series to get over.
England dropped catches as well.Kohli was dropped in the first innings when India was 152/6.Kohli added another 98 runs.Had the catch been take India would have been out for around 150.
 
Pakistan getting out to England early in 2016 and 2018 was a big factor in our successes on those tours.

You cannot think you can prepare for a red ball series in England by playing white ball cricket - the conditions are nothing like each other. Test pitches still have some assistance for the seamers whereas one day pitches are dead flat with the ball doing very little off the seam or in the air.

Until preparations for overseas series are taken seriously, not just India but most touring teams will continue to struggle away.
 
This the fact. Same thing in SA. No preparation. Same here and the itiniary suggests that samething awaits us in Australia.

Why werent Rahane Vijay allowed more time with the India A side? They picked players like Jayant Yadav to play but not Rahane or Vijay.

On top of that they cut 1 day of the essex game.

I said this earlier, Shastri and his cheerleading team of Arun,Sridhar and Bangar needs to be sacked.
 
Same old excuse after losing the first test. Why don't these ex cricketers cry about practice matches when the scheduled is announced? I said this before the series once we start losing the first excuse will be this. Blame the BCCI and the IPL where you cheerlead. You comeback to your senses once we lose a test. Seriously getting tired of this excuse.

Would the complaining make any difference?
 
Proper warm-ups like what Pakistan did before Eng series or how India used to do during Gavaskar's time, wont be possible in modern Indian cricket. Indian team hardly gets any time off due to back to back cricket so there is no time to squeeze in warm ups. I know it is unfortunate but it is as it is. Just after this 5 test, India plays Asia cup in the heat of UAE. Immediately after that WI touring us and then we fly to Australia and after that to NZ and so on and so forth. In-fact Indian team has no breaks until 2019 WC. So there is no question of having more warm up games added in the tour.

Then BCCI needs to make a choice between money and success

I'm sure more success equals more money. I won't say touch the IPL, but I will say that India could do with playing a series less per year and instead actually winning games abroad
 
Same old excuse after losing the first test. Why don't these ex cricketers cry about practice matches when the scheduled is announced? I said this before the series once we start losing the first excuse will be this. Blame the BCCI and the IPL where you cheerlead. You comeback to your senses once we lose a test. Seriously getting tired of this excuse.

There was a lot of time between IPL final and First test, you can't blame IPL one bit for this crappy performance.
 
Positive for India is it's a five match series. So they will get better as the series goes on. They're quite capable of playing lateral movement.

Get Pujara in. Even if he doesn't score big, he will wear down the bowlers. That will come in handy during a long series.
 
Calm down Sunny, there's still 4 more tests left in this Ashes series.
 
Taking a 5 day break was not very professional. If i remember correctly they also had the same issue in SA. Clearly they aren't taking the preparations very seriously, or they might think relaxing for 5 days is a better preparation...
 
Pakistan's prep for England series have been exemplary; pity their batsmen are not as good as Indians;
 
More preparation was needed but this Indian batting line up should have done better with their experience. They should get better as the series goes on. No need to panic too much yet.
 
Pakistan's prep for England series have been exemplary; pity their batsmen are not as good as Indians;

Not as good as Indians? Which Indian Batsmen are you referring to? Our current Batting is only Kohli and all other Batsmen are in England just for the vacation.
 
Vijay and Rahane had 3 weeks of practice including an unofficial test with England A. Yet they could hardly put bat to ball. Maybe Sunny should start asking them to take more responsibility as the senior pros and support Kohli. Had even one of them clicked in one inning, we would have won.

Another practice match would have been great, but the schedule was known for the last 3 months. Can't be used as an excuse. Also, practice or no practice, despite missing two main front line bowlers, we did run England close. Imagine England playing without Anderson and Broad and how would they have coped.
 
Indian have had plenty of time to aclimatize to english conditions, doesnt matter what format they have been playing over here previously.

Only worry is Kohli may get a back injury carrying the rest of the team for a 5 match series.
 
Same old excuse after losing the first test. Why don't these ex cricketers cry about practice matches when the scheduled is announced? I said this before the series once we start losing the first excuse will be this. Blame the BCCI and the IPL where you cheerlead. You comeback to your senses once we lose a test. Seriously getting tired of this excuse.

This is old subcontinental excuse.Yes,it is meaningless.Every time Pakistan or India visits England,somebody comes up with this excuse.Why Indian ,Pakistani cricket board don't make rooms for at least 3 first class matches before the start of test series?It should be mandatory.Pakistan's tour to England in 1992 should be an ideal example.They played ample no of practice matches in that tour .Their batsmen fared well so did the bowlers and Pakistan won the test series.
 
Preparation and all that, in my opinion, is all bogus. If you are playing inept batsmen like Dhawan, Vijay and DK, you are bound to fail, even if you had been there for a year. Just look at Pujara, he has been in the UK since the start of the county season now, yet has failed miserably in every match.

The top most priority should be a good core group of players who understand the fact that they are disposable. The likes of Vijay, Pandya, Dhawan have been made to believe that no matter how they perform, their spot in the team is a given. Even Rahane, despite being a good player, which I respect, should be made aware of the fact that hundreds of batsmen are knocking on the doors of selectors.
 
Kohli might get injured with the amount of cricket he is playing and the time he is spending on the ground. There is so much a human body can take.
Agreed with all the points with Gavaskar except the last one, as I believe having another batter won't do much good to India if 5 others can't perform.
India will comeback as the series go on, that is for sure. Expecting Rahane and Vijay to come good if persisted with for the whole tour as they are technically the best when it comes to the moving ball.
Pujara needs to be played, really hate this policy of Kohli when he benches a player all of a sudden and terms it "as per conditions". It instills fear in the guys and that shows in their performances.

There was no need of getting Rahul in for Pujara, I believe Rahul should have played in place of Dhawan.
 
Kohli might get injured with the amount of cricket he is playing and the time he is spending on the ground. There is so much a human body can take.
Agreed with all the points with Gavaskar except the last one, as I believe having another batter won't do much good to India if 5 others can't perform.
India will comeback as the series go on, that is for sure. Expecting Rahane and Vijay to come good if persisted with for the whole tour as they are technically the best when it comes to the moving ball.
Pujara needs to be played, really hate this policy of Kohli when he benches a player all of a sudden and terms it "as per conditions". It instills fear in the guys and that shows in their performances.

There was no need of getting Rahul in for Pujara, I believe Rahul should have played in place of Dhawan.

Kohli will get injured carrying the other 10 players for rest of the series.
 
THIS. Exactly...LOL.

The schedule was right in front of you Sunil saab. Why cry over spilt milk?
They actually scheduled a First Class 4 day match v Essex, which was 1/3 the First Class preparation that Pakistan gave themselves 2 months earlier.

But instead of giving 11 players four days of batting and bowling, they cancelled the fourth day and used 18 players.

India should do better in England than Pakistan because the players are better.

But they do worse because they don’t prepare professionally.
 
Kohli will get injured carrying the other 10 players for rest of the series.

That is my argument why I think Kohli's decline will start earlier than expected in a few years. Although I think Vijay and Rahane will start scoring if given all 5 Tests. They are pretty good technically, just need the time in the middle.
 
Not enough practise games is not a valid excuse. They all have been there for atleast a month, played international cricket as well as first class matches. Lack of caliber is the issue, and not lack or match practise.
 
I saw scorecards where Vijay and Rahane were playing for India A recently in Eng.. Pujara played for county and Kohli , Rahul, karthik and Pandya were part loi team.. They had enough prepatation imo.. Plus honestly the bowling wasn't as difficult as Indian batters made it out to be. There was hardly any seam movement from Broad neither as much swing for Anderson as was in May against Pakistan. India should have won this match, the batsmen were v.poor except Kohli. In bowling Sharma was quite impressive in 2nd innings though.
 
Whilst applauding India for their well deserved number 1 test status due to their home run, it is important to be clear about India’s real status.

Out of India- against good sides- they have been garbage.

The Indian batting is awful except for the genius that is Kohli. Take Kohli out and you have a county standard test batting.

Vijay? Nope
Dhawan - ok
Rahul - ipl slogger found out
Rahane - average at best
Pujara - good player but averaged bout 10 for Yorkshire !


And the bowling aside from Ashwin?
Mediocre at best
 
They were prepared. Having lost the one day series and 1st Test does not suggest a lack of preparedness. Gavaskar should simply accept that England are the better side instead of making cheap excuses.
 
England dropped catches as well.Kohli was dropped in the first innings when India was 152/6.Kohli added another 98 runs.Had the catch been take India would have been out for around 150.

If England had held on to catches, India would have lost by an innings.
 
Sunny Bhai has lots of good points, but he again isn't calling a spade as spade. I respect his views, but the bitter truth is that, like 90s, once again 2nd class citizens of Indian cricket were hard done by their prince charming - the much vaunted batting line up. Indian bowlers really had a reason to feel hard done by in this Test, after pulling down ENG from 213/3 to a 4th innings target of less than 200, on a wicket which any Asian batsman can hardly expect outside Asia.

By far the best 3 Indian players of this Test apart from VK were Ashwin, Ishant & Shami and they had been in UK for the least time - wasn't part of LO series either. Lack of practice, lack of FC games ... everything is agreed, still such batting line up should have chased that target, on that wicket, based on their reputation. This game was close because of an outstanding innings and a rare guard defense by No. 10 & 11, otherwise IND was out of the Test for batting by 2nd Tea. May not be that high like Mamoon (I do rate the top 5, but not envy for the class, apart from one ......), but, I did expect IND to win this Test chasing 193. Also, during commentary, Nasser was saying that 350 is a good score against any team, but against this Indian batting, even after scoring 400, you might be struggling to save the game.

A massive let down by batsman - which Sunny Bhai isn't denying (& he did mention that batting was short, to include 6th batsman), but I felt he is trying to shift it on lack of practice, rather than capability.
This schedule was fixed long back, one can't complain much - but I don't think couple more FC games would have improved Vijay, Rahne's struggle for the little period they were evident in middle.
 
Lol what lack of preparation

They have been in England for ages
 
Indian team is just not good enough.. Sports is not our forte and being mediocre in cricket is best we can achieve:.
 
This lack of preparation has resulted in worst win% outside Asia since 2011
Dj6qEPfUUAYYPI_.jpg
 
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Mind commenting on the W/L ratio outside Asia?

Reply to a what may be a photo shop image?

Since 2011 Pakistan have played only 10 test matches outside asia? And have lost only 5? So Pakistan didnot get white washed in AUS and SA?Didnot lose tests to NZ,ZIM and WI?
 
Fun part is that image may be photoshopped.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fun part is that image may be photoshopped.

It's an old image, which I pointed out in the other thread. http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...ottlers-in-Test-cricket&p=9850831#post9850831

Accurate stats for that time-frame:

[table=class:grid][tr][td]Team[/td][td]Mat[/td][td]Won[/td][td]Lost[/td][td]Draw[/td][td]W/L[/td][td]Ave[/td][td]RPO[/td][td]HS[/td][td]LS[/td][td]Win %[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Australia[/td][td]65[/td][td]39[/td][td]16[/td][td]10[/td][td]2.437[/td][td]39.75[/td][td]3.58[/td][td]662[/td][td]47[/td][td]60%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]South Africa[/td][td]58[/td][td]34[/td][td]12[/td][td]12[/td][td]2.833[/td][td]37.02[/td][td]3.28[/td][td]637[/td][td]83[/td][td]59%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]England[/td][td]74[/td][td]34[/td][td]24[/td][td]16[/td][td]1.416[/td][td]35.02[/td][td]3.33[/td][td]710[/td][td]58[/td][td]46%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]New Zealand[/td][td]52[/td][td]22[/td][td]17[/td][td]13[/td][td]1.294[/td][td]34.26[/td][td]3.33[/td][td]680[/td][td]45[/td][td]42%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Pakistan[/td][td]25[/td][td]10[/td][td]14[/td][td]1[/td][td]0.714[/td][td]27.99[/td][td]2.91[/td][td]542[/td][td]49[/td][td]40%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]West Indies[/td][td]53[/td][td]15[/td][td]26[/td][td]12[/td][td]0.576[/td][td]27.62[/td][td]2.97[/td][td]522[/td][td]93[/td][td]28%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sri Lanka[/td][td]26[/td][td]5[/td][td]16[/td][td]5[/td][td]0.312[/td][td]27.06[/td][td]3.2[/td][td]537[/td][td]82[/td][td]19%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Zimbabwe[/td][td]18[/td][td]3[/td][td]14[/td][td]1[/td][td]0.214[/td][td]24.42[/td][td]2.77[/td][td]412[/td][td]51[/td][td]17%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]India[/td][td]33[/td][td]5[/td][td]18[/td][td]10[/td][td]0.277[/td][td]29.04[/td][td]3.15[/td][td]566[/td][td]94[/td][td]15%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bangladesh[/td][td]11[/td][td]1[/td][td]10[/td][td]0[/td][td]0.1[/td][td]22.18[/td][td]3.22[/td][td]595[/td][td]43[/td][td]9%[/td][/tr][/table]
 
Now whats the Win loss of SA/ENG/AUS in Asia? Seeing their performance in their own den is of little consequence.

Btw have you included the ZIM and IRL tests for Pakistan?

All matches outside Asia included.

AUS/SA/ENG/NZ in Asia:

[table=class:grid][tr][td]Team[/td][td]Mat[/td][td]Won[/td][td]Lost[/td][td]Draw[/td][td]W/L[/td][td]Ave[/td][td]RPO[/td][td]Win %[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]England[/td][td]19[/td][td]4[/td][td]12[/td][td]3[/td][td]0.333[/td][td]30.17[/td][td]2.83[/td][td]21%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Australia[/td][td]18[/td][td]3[/td][td]12[/td][td]3[/td][td]0.25[/td][td]26.6[/td][td]2.91[/td][td]17%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]New Zealand[/td][td]12[/td][td]2[/td][td]7[/td][td]3[/td][td]0.285[/td][td]29.12[/td][td]3.12[/td][td]17%[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]South Africa[/td][td]12[/td][td]2[/td][td]6[/td][td]4[/td][td]0.333[/td][td]22.16[/td][td]2.54[/td][td]17%[/td][/tr][/table]
 
Whilst applauding India for their well deserved number 1 test status due to their home run, it is important to be clear about India’s real status.

Out of India- against good sides- they have been garbage.

The Indian batting is awful except for the genius that is Kohli. Take Kohli out and you have a county standard test batting.

Vijay? Nope
Dhawan - ok
Rahul - ipl slogger found out
Rahane - average at best
Pujara - good player but averaged bout 10 for Yorkshire !


And the bowling aside from Ashwin?
Mediocre at best
Yes, that is why they got all the English top order in the hut by 80 odd runs.And also ripped through in SA for three continuous tests.
Rahul has 4 centuries and 11 50s in Test cricket with a highest score of 199.He ain't no slogger unless that has some different meaning in your vocabulary.
 
I see [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] is back chest-thumping. Lets continue that discussion about India becoming a dominant team shall we? Want to bring in the Windies of 70s or Aussies of 2000s, ya kuch sharam aa gayi hai?
 
I see [MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION] is back chest-thumping. Lets continue that discussion about India becoming a dominant team shall we? Want to bring in the Windies of 70s or Aussies of 2000s, ya kuch sharam aa gayi hai?

No.1 team ko sharam aani chahiye ya no.7 team ko?
 
In short if there will be a coach like SHASTRI then this ghumna phirna aish Karna before matches will go on. He is just like enjoy man and be in positive frame of mind.
 
Besharmi ki baat yeh hai keh Number 1 team is only barely, just barely, above the last ranked team in W/L ratio outside their back yard...yet chest thumping continues!

At least just stay quite and people will not reply/react
 
Slamming after the event wont help or change anything, he should have voiced his concerns before the series began.
 
Besharmi ki baat yeh hai keh Number 1 team is only barely, just barely, above the last ranked team in W/L ratio outside their back yard...yet chest thumping continues!

At least just stay quite and people will not reply/react

More Besharmi that getting whitewashed by SL at home? :))
 
More Besharmi that getting whitewashed by SL at home? :))

there is no besharmi in sports. But to be honest this whole ranking systems needs to change to reflect a team that has the best team irrelevant of the conditions.

As far as India is concerned most knowledgeable people will know the No.1 status was earned not only due to prolonged home season but also pitch doctoring to extreme levels specially against SA. Which makes the ranking system totally irrelevant when India tour abroad. Its not India's fault its a fault in the system.
 
More Besharmi that getting whitewashed by SL at home? :))


Average Test experience of that team was probably less than 10-15 tests, most of them novices...at least we have a reason, what is yours for the big 'Phainta' in CT and now against England?

Oh, yeah, it is not taking place in your own backtyard so you can 'tune up' the pitches!
 
Positive for India is it's a five match series. So they will get better as the series goes on. They're quite capable of playing lateral movement.

Get Pujara in. Even if he doesn't score big, he will wear down the bowlers. That will come in handy during a long series.

Whilst I see what your seeing, personally I think England will only get better as the series goes on.
 
He may have some more choice words later on.
 
What’s Gavaskar on about? I doubt he thought any different before India got shown their place. Look at the state of some of the fans here. Winning in England was a foregone conclusion for a few of them. I can dig up posts and most PPers will be shaking their heads in disbelief. With the amount of arrogance prevalent in the cricket environment, on the back off a T20 tournament (ironically) and a few test victories at home, its no surprise the team management started to believe in their own hype
 
Following their defeats in the opening two Tests against England, questions are being raised over Indian team’s preparedness for the tough tour. Several former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar have said the team should have played more practice matches.

India had a one-off practice match against Essex ahead of the five-Test series that began from August 1 and it was curtailed to three from four days.

Across the four innings so far, barring captain Virat Kohli, the rest of the batters have failed to deal successfully with the bowling-friendly conditions. But they have received some support from the opposition camp on the accusation of not being prepared well.

England coach Trevor Bayliss feels that considering the volume of cricket teams of the likes of India, England and Australia play throughout a year, their players need to rest and recuperate and that under such circumstances it’s impossible to schedule game in between tours/series.

“The simple fact is, teams like Australia, India and England play so much cricket,” Bayliss was quoted as saying by PTI. “I’m sure everyone would love to play more warm-up matches than they do. You simply can’t fit them in. Somewhere along the lines the players have to have some sort of rest. Most will play all the games but to keep putting more practice matches in, it’s almost impossible. It’s just the way it is.”

While he said teams including his England will love to have more such matches when they are the touring party, but the cramped schedule makes it a tough proposition. “We play the practice matches that we do and get asked the same questions if your preparation right. Well, we’d love to have a few more games. But there aren’t 10 days in a week,” he said.

England have dominated the world No. 1 India in conditions conducive to bowling at Egdbaston and Lord’s so far, taking a 2-0 lead. Bayliss hopes that their bowlers will continue to have the upperhand. “In these types of conditions (like Lord’s), I don’t think it’ll matter what the wicket is like. Here there’s always a little bit of grass on the wicket. With the overhead conditions, it’s the big thing,” he said.

While acknowledging that England were lucky as the weather was in their favour, he pointed out that it’s the opposite when they are the touring side.

“…things fell our way (at Lord’s): winning the toss, overcast the first day and a bit clear on the second day when we batted. There wasn’t as much swing the second day but some movement off the wicket, which is difficult to handle. Then it started to swing a little bit again.

“Certainly the conditions were in our favour but we’ve been to other parts of the world where you lose the toss and you’ve got to deal with it. I would like the conditions to be in our favour every single time,” he said.

Like on their last visits to England shores, Indian batsmen are facing a stern ‘swing’ test and so far, they are failing. Bayliss compares it to the ‘spin’ challenge visiting teams face when they tour subcontinent. “When the ball is swinging around they have some difficulties, as it is when it’s spinning and we go to the subcontinent. It’s a challenge for any team to play in conditions you’re not used to and some of them are struggling a little bit,” he observed.

http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/...e-more-practice-matches-trevor-bayliss-735477
 
Lack of preparation, not Kohli dependence reason behind India’s debacle: Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara has given the struggling Indian batsmen benefit of the doubt, pointing out that it is unfair to call the team “overdependent” on its captain Virat Kohli. In two Tests against England that India have lost, Kohli has made 250 runs in four innings for an average of 60; the other specialist batsmen have managed 167.

And even as India went down 0-2 to England at Lord’s in the second Test, their batsmen’s meek surrender raised questions over the team’s ability to play quality and way too superior a bowling attack in testing conditions. Sangakkara, in an exclusive interview to PTI, stressed on the lack of practice matches for the Indian team and specified that had things been different on that front, the batsmen might have fared better.

“It is almost unfair to the other batsmen because we have seen Virat batting like he has for the last few years. It’s incredible to watch and he is an incredible performer, but others are also fantastic players,” Sangakkara said. “Pujara and Rahane are absolutely great batsmen Pujara averages 50 in Test cricket, Rahane averages 50 overseas. Then, there are others. KL Rahul looks brilliant (when in form), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik these are no insignificant names.”

India played just one practice game leading up to the Test series. It was learnt that the BCCI provided the team opportunity to play more matches but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri preferred to rest. Former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly have all voiced their opinion over the importance of practice matches on a testing tour such as this.

In the four innings so far, India managed scores of 274 and 162 (at Edgbaston), which they lost by 31 runs, and were rolled over for 107 and 130 at Lord’s.

“They have struggled here and one of the reasons could be lack of preparation. So they really need to think hard because you cannot prepare while you are playing the Test matches. You have to find that confidence to answer the questions asked by English bowlers in training and in practice games, Sangakkara added. “English bowlers have exploited the usual sub-continental weaknesses here and that has created more questions than answers for the Indian side.”

Sangakkara, scorer of over 25000 runs for Sri Lanka, was the latest to weigh in on India’s questionable team selection for the second Test. India went in with two fast bowlers – Hardik Pandya being a third seam bowling option – and two spinners in R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav. And while many believe that it would have been an ideal option had it not rained prior to the start of the match, three pacers was the need of the hour in conditions tailor-made for fast bowling.

“It all went wrong at the toss itself. There were great bowling conditions on day two, and James Anderson and Chris Woakes made life tough for them. When you are out for 107, and conditions next day are very good for batting, it is hard to pull things back even when Mohammed Shami bowled beautifully,” the former wicketkeeper batsman said.

“It leaves a question mark on the Indian team selection. If you are playing five days then yes under the sun, it would have been different with two spinners coming into the game. But they really didn’t make any impact on the game. They made a decision based on having an extra fast bowler there, and having said that, fast bowlers usually do most of the damage at Lord’s. So they should have stuck with more or less the same team, or bowling attack (by bringing in Pujara for Dhawan). Hardik Pandya played, but they could have played an extra batsman and an extra pacer instead if they wanted to.”

Kohli’s knack of not sticking to a particular team combination is highlighted even more prominently considering the fact that not once has he fielded the same Playing XI in his tenure as India’s full-time Test captain since 2015. It has been 37 Test matches as per today, and considering India’s abject batting, it is likely that the trend won’t stop here.

“They haven’t played the same side for now 37 Tests, so that goes a lot to say how things are,” Sangakkara said. “I am not saying that it is a bad thing but sometimes in Test cricket batsmen and bowlers need consistency in selection. It gives you confidence, trust and the courage to go out there to perform for the side. Sometimes changing and chopping is not a negative thing, and sometimes it can be a negative thing. But a change always has to be tactical (not for the heck of it).

“If it (constant changes) is bothering them, then be open about it talk to the captain, the coach and the management. Ask them, ‘can we have a little more consistency because this is bothering us’. But if they have bought into it (changing and chopping) and are fine with it, then it’s a different question.”

http://www.cricketcountry.com/news/...behind-indias-debacle-kumar-sangakkara-735800
 
Well good news is that India has had 2 games so far of good practice. So Gavaskar's theory will be tested in 3rd Test
 
Well good news is that India has had 2 games so far of good practice. So Gavaskar's theory will be tested in 3rd Test



Ha, barely 1 1/2 if it is all added together :-)

The kind of practice everyone is talking about is not gonna come just like that, most Indian batsmen in this team need the ball to stop moving, period; and considering how rain has been playing spoil sport through out, this is not getting better any time soon. Unless the pitch is completely dry and son shines all 5 days and all England players play with one arm tied behind their back, no change of fortunes are in sight for the third test as well!
 
Well good news is that India has had 2 games so far of good practice. So Gavaskar's theory will be tested in 3rd Test

Yea they have got so much practice that they skipped practice for 3 days. Pathetic ethics.
 
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