Sunil Gavaskar didn’t mince his words when he rebuked Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill for their apparent impatience in surrendering their wickets during a pivotal ICC World Cup 2023 match triumph. In sharp contrast, he extolled Virat Kohli as the embodiment of unwavering determination. Kohli’s resplendent, unbeaten century subsequently steered India to their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament, silencing the critics.
“He (Shreyas Iyer) lost his patience. He was batting on 19, and threw his wicket away. Shubman Gill (was batting on) fifty (52), threw his wicket away. You need to know how to get to a hundred. Shubman Gill is at least getting hundreds, Shreyas Iyer is not getting hundreds. He is getting his opportunities to bat at number 4 on pitches as good as these and attacks as toothless as this and he is throwing away the opportunity,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Sunil Gavaskar lauds Virat Kohli’s resilience
The 74-year-old showered praise upon Virat Kohli for his unwavering discipline, highlighting his rare propensity for safeguarding his wicket, ensuring that opponents have to toil for his dismissal. In the face of mounting criticism that the Delhi batter’s pursuit of personal milestones may overshadow the team’s goals, the ‘Little Master’ emphatically voiced his support contending that the 34-year-old’s approach is driven by a commitment to victory and getting hundreds is not bad.
“Kohli never does that. Kohli will seldom ever throw his wicket away. He makes you earn his wicket. And that is exactly what you need. When he got to 70-80, realising that he has an opportunity to get to a hundred and why not? Hundreds don’t come everyday,” the former cricketer added.
