Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at Shikhar Dhawan after India's Edgbaston defeat

The left-hander scored 26 and 13 in the first and second innings respectively of the opening Test against England in Birmingham.

Update: 2018-08-07 07:03 GMT
After questioning Indian team management's approach to opt fot five-day rest ahead of first Test against England, Sunil Gavaskar slammed Shikhar Dhawan for his poor show in the Birmingham Test. (Photo: PTI / AFP)

Mumbai: Sunil Gavaskar is not happy following India’s loss in the opening Test against England in Birmingham and he is leaving no stone unturned in criticising those who are a part of the team.

A day after he lashed out at the Indian team management for their five-day rest before the opening Test, the former Indian cricket skipper has now slammed Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan.

Dhawan, who could not score a run in India’s only warm-up game ahead of the Test series, scored 26 and 13 in the first and second innings respectively as India went on to lose the Test by 31 runs despite skipper Virat Kohli’s heroics with the bat, where he scored 149 and 51 in the Test.

"Shikhar simply does not want to change his game," Gavaskar told Aaj Tak.

"He believes in playing in the same manner which has brought him success till now. You can still get away with such shots in one-day cricket because there aren't many slips and the push or the edge goes for a boundary through the slip cordon. But in Tests, such shots will only result in a fall of wicket. Till a player makes a mental adjustment, he will continue to struggle against the red ball in overseas condition," he added.

The ex-India opener, who is one of the best India has ever produced, also revealed that none of the Indian cricketers from the current crop, barring Ajinkya Rahane, seek his advice.

"No batsman comes to me for advice now. Earlier, players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman would often speak to me on tours but I guess this generation is different and they have different coaches and batting coaches. Only Ajinkya Rahane comes to me sometimes,” concluded Gavaskar.

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