Sunil Gavaskar wants MS Dhoni to actively continue cricket

Former India opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar has advised MS Dhoni to remain active in cricket irrespective of whether there is a series or not. Gavaskar has said that it is important for someone like the Indian skipper to keep in touch with the game. The Indians will travel to the Caribbean to play a four-match Test series following the IPL. That would mean no international action for MS Dhoni. Sunil Gavaskar also added that Dhoni could play even in the CPL or England domestic cricket should the BCCI allow him to do so.

“My honest advice to Dhoni after IPL is to take a break but not too much of a break. When you take a little bit of a break in international cricket, it is hard to catch up. Keep playing, keep training and you can come back for the next season.

“Clearly, he is going to play some cricket. After the IPL, he can play Caribbean Premier League. Even in England, just before the English season conclude. If he does that, he gets a practice. Though, I don’t know whether he will be allowed to do so by the BCCI,” he said.

Speaking about the recently concluded semi-final which saw the Indians vanquished by the West Indies, Gavaskar said that the Indians were perhaps 20 odd runs short of their total.

“I think India could have scored 20 runs more. I think it was possible. There was a time when we might have. Despite getting a good start, we never really actually got to more than eight runs an over.

“Eight runs an over against a good batting side and on a good batting pitch is not really expected, particularly with guys in form. You would expect more than 10 runs an over. So, I think even the West Indian bowlers bowled well,” the former India opener added.

Gavaskar also mentioned that toss shouldn’t play a major factor when it comes to playing such an important match. He illustrated it with an incident he shared with former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd.

“Once I was doing commentary with Clive Lloyd when he was the chairman of ICC Cricket committee. He made a very good point. He said ‘when you come to the semi-finals and final, toss should not be a factor’. It should be a day game, where there is no dew because, in day/night game, there would be a situation where dew might get into play. I think it is a very valid point.

“The spinners are really not expected to bowl a no ball. Fast bowlers, in their effort to ball a yorker or a bouncer, can sometimes overstep. Thus, for a spinner to bowl a no ball is unacceptable. This is something you got to practice in the nets,” he said.

Kohli is happy with the way the fans supported the team – Virat Kohli thanks Indian fans for support