Chief selector and team management should select the XI in Nottingham: Sunil Gavaskar

The Indian team management has made some bizarre decisions in the last few overseas Test matches. They decided to drop Bhuvneshwar Kumar after the first Test in South Africa where he bagged a five-wicket haul, Ajinkya Rahane didn’t play the first two Tests on the same tour. Come England and Cheteshwar Pujara was missing from the XI in the opening Test, the same was Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav’s fate in the second. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has a suggestion to deal with this problem.

Virat Kohli decided to field two spinners on the pre-meditated perception that the wicket at Lord’s where they played the previous Test of the series was going to be dry. Thus they dropped Umesh and added Kuldeep Yadav to the squad who had no contribution to make in the match. Gavaskar suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should send chairman of selectors MSK Prasad to England.

Send MSK Prasad to help Kohli

The board had assigned two selectors Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi the role to assist the team with on tour selection. While they’ve had little role to play in the XI that is picked Sarandeep is set to come back to the country. Gavaskar said if Prasad is there and helps Kohli determine the best possible combination it will reduce the pressure on the skipper.

“I know there are some selectors (Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi) in England but BCCI should send the Chairman of selectors. The team management and chief selector should together pick the playing eleven. This will ease the pressure on that front from Virat. Because don’t forget your playing eleven choice for the next test in Nottingham will be critical to keep the series alive else we will have to forget about it,” he told India Today.

There is pressure on captain Kohli

In the last five overseas Test matches, the team has won just one and that despite skipper Kohli’s tremendous batting form. He scored 200 runs in the first Test against England which included his maiden hundred on English soil in the longest format but it couldn’t change the fate.

“When the team is not doing well, even if you are scoring, there is pressure on you as a captain. Virat will be facing the same pressure. Particularly because there have been questions asked on his selection of playing eleven in each game. So there is more pressure,” Gavaskar reasoned.

“Your selection in the last five away Tests have proven to be wrong. You just won the Johannesburg Test but four Tests have been lost. That’s why to help Virat, not to constrain him, you need the chief selector there. Because sometimes you want to share your views on selection with selectors. It’s after all the selectors who have given you the squad so it would be better if there is consultation between selectors and the team management,” the legendary batsman stated.

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