‘Kids Look Great Playing Against Kids’: Sunil Gavaskar’s Surprising Take On Indian Youngsters After T20I Series Loss Vs Windies

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar came up with an Interesting take on Indian youngster after Team India lost T20I series vs West Indies.

AFTER Romario Shepherd’s sensational bowling display, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat to seal the five-match T20 series after beating India by 8 wickets in the fifth and final match at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, here on Sunday. West Indies won the five-match series 3-2.

After losing the first two matches, India bounced back strongly and clinched the next two games to level up the series but couldn’t continue with the momentum in the decider as they suffered their first T20 series loss against West Indies since 2017.

Sunil Gavakar On Indian Youngsters

Team India’s T20I team involved many youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma. Some of them had promising outings at the individual level but overall team performance wasn’t up to the mark to ensure the series win.

Sunil Gavaskar came up with an interesting remark following the series loss against two-time champion West Indies.

“A player could do well at the franchise level, but when it comes to playing for the country, it’s a different ball game of pressures and expectations. It is one step up, which can be too steep for even some of the best performers at the franchise level. How often have we seen this when the Under-19 performers just aren’t able to take that one step up from a boys’ tournament to a men’s competition?,” he wrote in a column on Sportstar.

“Yes, the kids look great playing against kids, but when they come up against the men, they suddenly find that what looks like a piece of cake at the under-19 level is more like mud at the senior level. That’s why so many who looked good at the boys’ level have been found wanting at the senior level. It’s not just the temperament; even the skill set is way below the standard required at the franchise level. Then, having been bought for crores, some of these youngsters lose the fire in the belly and are happy to cruise along in later years and get their contracts extended, even if it is for a lesser amount,” he further penned.

“The loss to West Indies should not be a dampener. Don’t forget that they have won the ICC T20 World Cup twice, and their players are matchwinners for the different franchises they play for in the IPL. So, they are a top-class T20 team, and there’s no shame in losing to them. It should be a wake-up call, though, to see the areas where India needs to improve to strengthen its side. Some of those who were rested for this series may not be around for too long, so their replacements need to be found pretty quickly too, as the next ICC T20 World Cup is just a year away,” he explained how the loss against Windies should not damper Indian team.