Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'Just look where the bat has gone': Gavaskar slams Agarwal's shot selection, asks 'don't you make mental adjustments?'
Gavaskar questioned Agarwal's shot selection, saying that although the batter looks like a million bucks while middling the ball, the India opener appears a tad vulnerable against the moving ball.
Sunil Gavaskar was not impressed with Mayank Agarwal’s dismissal on Day 1 of the third Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town on Tuesday. Agarwal, who was dropped on 0, scored 15 before he edged Kagiso Rabada to second slip. Gavaskar questioned Agarwal’s shot selection, saying that although the batter looks like a million bucks while middling the ball, the India opener appears a tad vulnerable against the moving ball.
"Agarwal is a very good player when the ball is hitting the middle of the bat, for the simple reason that he’s got that lovely little push but when the ball moves a little bit, that bat speed gets him into trouble. We have seen that edge when he was on 0, that would have been a terrific catch. Look at that… see how hard he has pushed at the ball," Gavaskar said on air.
Also Read | India vs South Africa Live Score, 3rd Test, Day 1
"Really if the bat and pad were together, he would have played and missed it. But because he went for it… he has gone for the ball… and in Test cricket there is an aspect of leaving the ball. Leave it as much as you can in the first hour. Just look where the bat has gone. Had it been close to the pad, he would have been fine."
Gavaskar admitted that this knack of poking at the balls away from stumps could well stem from the fact that a lot of batters these days play plenty of T20 cricket, where playing shots is the way forward. But the former India captain stressed on the importance of making adjustments in the mind upon transitioning from one format to another.
"To a great extent yes, but then it has got to be the mental adjustment more than anything else. Don’t you make mental adjustments from Test to 50-overs to T20 cricket? That is what needs to be done," Gavaskar pointed out.
