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'The runs scored by Rohit and Kohli...': Gavaskar pulls up BCCI, Agarkar for 'same old story' in IND vs WI Tests
Sunil Gavaskar questioned if there was anything the BCCI and the selectors gained through Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's centuries against West Indies.
The two-Test series between India and West Indies has panned out as per everyone's expectations. India have been all over West Indies, wrapping up the first Test by an innings and 141 runs, and were firmly on top in Trinidad before rain washed out Day 5 for the 2nd. Indian batters have had a ball, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring centuries whereas Ravichandran Ashwin's legacy grew with yet another match-winning five-wicket-haul in Dominica. The second Test may have ended in a draw but India have looked solid throughout the Test series and have started the new World Test Championship cycle without any hiccups.
However, Sunil Gavaskar has maintained his stance on the matter, wondering the purpose behind these runs scored by Kohli and Rohit. The former India captain was visibly upset to see the established names getting preference over youngsters such as Sarfaraz Khan and reiterated his point by questioning the selectors again. With Ajit Agarkar appointed as the new BCCI chairman of selectors, Gavaskar hopes for winds of change given the takeaways from the West Indies Tests have been far and few.
"The runs scored by Rohit and Kohli against this West indies attack begs the question what did the selectors learn that they didn't know already. Wouldn't it have been better to try out some youngsters and see how they take to Test cricket or is it that the selectors don't want any sort of challenge from the younger lot to the established players," he wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
"Now that Ajit Agarkar has come on board as the Chairman of the selection committee let's see if there is going to be any change in the approach to building a team for the future or if it's going to be the same old story of the Indian team being the bridesmaid but not the bride."
Kohli passed the difficult phases with aplomb: Gavaskar
Having said that, Gavaskar did not take away anything from Kohli's efforts in particular. Dismissed for 76 in the first Test where Rohit scored his 2nd overseas century and Jaiswal hit his maiden hundred on debut, Kohli made up for it by peeling off a 29th century in his 500th Tests. Kohli was patience personified as he grinded it out a sluggish surface and helping India to a solid 438. Although the innings had half-centuries from Rohit, Jaiswal, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli played anchor, and Gavaskar couldn't be any more pleased.
"Kohli didn't miss out as he had in the first Test match and duly got a century. What that showed is that it's not just talent but the ability to understand the opposition, the pitch and the conditions to get a big score. There are three or four danger areas for a batter. One is at the start of his innings when he is yet to come to terms with the pitch and get his footwork going, the second is when he has reached a half-century and has lost focus for a brief while as he savours the moment and acknowledges it to the crowd and his teammates, the third is when he is in his 90s when he realises the prospect of getting a century and so can play a rash shot in trying to get there quickly and lose his wicket," Gavaskar added.
"The fourth is after getting a century when there's a sense of achievement and joy that leads to lapse in concentration. Like after getting to a 50, a batter after reaching a century is better off being at the non-striker end for an over or two while his focus comes back. Kohli knew all that and so didn't miss out this time around."
