‘Don’t think about Australia’ - Sunil Gavaskar’s clear message to India for ongoing NZ series

Much before the Bangladesh series, there were talks about India’s possible strategy for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is slated to begin on November 22. A few of the Australian cricketers have been speaking on the matter for quite some time, and the Indian media haven’t been shy to ask the Indian players about their planning and preparation for the blockbuster series up next.

In the meantime, the Rohit Sharma-led side lost the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru and is in a very difficult spot in the second in Pune. The BlackCaps are leading by 301 runs after Day 2 as India are on the verge of their first home Test series defeat in 12 years. During commentary on Day 2, legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar stated that the Indian players shouldn’t focus on the next Australia series, but rather concentrate on New Zealand.

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“Don’t talk about Australia now. That’s a mistake a lot of people make too often. You’ve got to worry about what’s happening now. Your focus should be only on what’s happening at the moment. Australia will take care of itself. You will find the methods to beat Australia,” Gavaskar said while on air with Sports18.

Later, the former cricketer clarified that the players are trying to focus on the game, but it’s the media that hyping about the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

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“It’s not the players. The players are focused on the game. It’s the circle around which is the media and everybody else which is talking about Australia. There is so much of coverage about what is going to happen in Australia,” he added. 

Meanwhile, India’s senior batters are going through turmoil in the series against New Zealand. Both Rohit and Virat Kohli scored a half-century each in the second innings of the first Test but a big knock is still missing. The other senior player, KL Rahul has been dropped and if Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan keep up with their performance, it will be hard for him to make a comeback in the playing XI.