"Not India's Fault If Steve Smith And David Warner Weren't Picked": Sunil Gavaskar
The former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that India simply played the opposition they were presented with.
Highlights
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Both Smith and Warner are serving bans from international cricket
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India won the four-Test series 2-1
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Kohli became the first Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia
Australia's failure in the four-match Test series vs India is largely being attributed to batting mainstays David Warner and Steve Smith's one-year ban on ball tampering charges. But Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has rejected the assertion. "It is not India's fault that this Australian team was without David Warner and Steve Smith. Australia could have handed them shorter bans but obviously it was thought that one-year bans would be good for Australian cricket, that they needed to be made an example for anyone who brings the game into disrepute," Gavaskar said during a post-match show.
"India played the opposition they were presented with and it's a great achievement for them," said the former captain.
According to Gavaskar, what separates Kohli's men from earlier teams is their world-class fitness standards. "It is not that teams that I was a part of didn't play to win. We also played to win but this team is at a different level in terms of fitness and the captain has shown the way. In our times, we used do our individual routines," recalled Gavaskar.
Meanwhile, former and current players along with administrators hailed the series win on various platforms.
India won the four-match series 2-1 after the Sydney Test ended in a rain-forced draw, their first ever Test series triumph on Australian soil. In the series, India won the Adelaide and then the Melbourne Tests by convincing margins. The only Test match lost was in Perth.
(With PTI inputs)
India Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team
Virat Kohli
Cheteshwar Pujara
Jasprit Bumrah
Nathan Lyon
Pat Cummins
Sunil Gavaskar
Steven Smith
David Warner