India vs England: Lack Of Practice Hurt India In Edgbaston, Says Sunil Gavaskar

India batting great Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday said that lack of practice with red ball hurt the Indian side as they fell short by 31 runs in the opening Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Gavaskar further added that India should've played at least two three-day warm-up matches before the start of the five-match Test series. India's four-day practice match against county side Essex was reduced to three days due to the condition of the pitch and the outfield. 

"Definitely not. We are talking about the Indian team being there and everybody is talking about the Indian team being there. But, they were playing with the white ball and the white ball doesn't swing at all. It hardly swings for half-a-dozen overs or so but the red-ball keeps swinging. We saw in this Test match that even in the 40th over, 50th over, the ball was moving around in the air as well as off the surface," Gavaskar told India Today.

"So clearly you needed to have more practice. You can have as much as simulated practice with the throw downs etc but it is never the same as in a match. Because in throw downs, you can get out and still face the next ball, the bowler can bowl a no-ball but he still gets a wicket but in a match it is a completely different scenario. So, I thought that they should have played a little bit more," Gavaskar added.

"But they deluded themselves and everybody by saying that we have been in England for a month. But, you've been in England, playing the white-ball. You have been playing in England where the bat speed for limited-overs cricket is completely different for bat speed for Test cricket. So that is no preparation. Luckily this time the summer has been very good. So the cold is not there. Maybe the body clock needed to be adjusted but that is fine. The preparation should have been much more intense at the start of the series...then maybe you can taper if off once you start winning and then give them days off but not before you have started the series," Gavaskar further added.

However, Gavaskar believes that India can make a strong comeback in the Lord's Test.

"I'm very positive still because I believe in this team. Let's forget what has happened. I believe in this team because I believe that they have the ability. They just need to believe in themselves...the doubts have been created by England after the win in the first Test. So they got to start believing that they can come back and do well."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Virat Kohli Sunil Gavaskar England vs India, 2018 Cricket