Sunil Gavaskar got angry at young players after the crushing defeat against New Zealand, said- need to learn from Kohli

New Delhi: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that India lost the ODI series against New Zealand due to not getting a good start and the team’s batsmen should take a lesson from Virat Kohli to carry the innings properly while chasing difficult targets. India lost to New Zealand by 41 runs in the third and final ODI played in Indore and thus lost the ODI series against New Zealand for the first time at home. Among India’s leading batsmen, only Kohli was able to perform well. He scored 124 runs on 108 balls.

Gavaskar said in a program of Jiostar, “Things became difficult for India due to Virat Kohli not getting full support. Kohli got very little support. The real problem for India in this series has been not getting off to a good start. It is also said that a good start means half the job is done. He said, “India never had a good start and this is one of the main reasons for its defeat that it was not able to chase a big score.” Half of India’s batsmen were returned to the pavilion for 159 runs, which dealt a serious blow to the team’s chances of victory.

Gavaskar said, “When you lose a player who is in great form like KL Rahul and you have Nitish Kumar Reddy, who had not shown his potential before this inning of 53 runs, and then you have Harshit Rana, who you can never be completely sure of how he will perform, then reaching the target becomes a big challenge. This is exactly the situation India faced.” The former batsman praised Kohli for trying till the end and asked others to emulate his mentality and consistency.

He said, “His specialty is that he is not tied to any image. Many batsmen and bowlers care about how people think of them and feel that they have to live up to their potential. Virat is not like that.” Gavaskar said, ”He (Kohli) is completely dedicated to his work and that work is to score runs. Sometimes this means playing it safe and then playing it loose. Sometimes this means adopting an aggressive approach early or rotating the strike depending on the circumstances. Kohli doesn’t think about how he is expected to play.

He said, “His nature is most important.” He doesn’t think that ‘I am expected to hit a six’. He plays according to the situation. He never gives up. He tried till the end. The youth should take this lesson from them that they should not be bound by any kind of image and play as per the situation. By doing this you will become a more successful and consistently performing player.