Now Indian batsmen will have to work on bat speed: Gavaskar

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New Delhi. Batting great Sunil Gavaskar believes the transition from the fast-paced T20 format to Test cricket will require Indian batsmen to control their bat speed as they face Australia in the upcoming World Test Championship final from June 7 at The Oval. .

Gavaskar stressed on the need for batsmen to play as late as possible in English conditions.

Gavaskar said on ‘Follow the Blues’ on Star Sports, “I think they are going to look at their bat speed. Coming from T20 where the bat speed is too fast for test cricket but in Test The pace of the bat has to be controlled a lot, this is something they will need to do. They will need to play as late as possible in England to allow the swing to do its job, not the ball To reach, which often a lot of people make the mistake of playing on good pitches.”

“Wherever you play on good pitches, you play through the line, not necessarily the half-volley, but in England those balls can move just a little bit. So, I think those are the things Which is what you need to look at as a batsman. As a bowling unit also you have to bowl more full lengths to your new ball, so that the bowlers can get pace in the air as well as after pitching.”

The former India captain also highlighted the challenges that Team India will face in English conditions, including cloudy weather and swing in the wind, unfamiliar aspects for the Indian, West Indies and Sri Lankan players.

He said, “I think the conditions in England are challenging because first of all we are used to playing with the sun at our back. When you are playing in England, often you are playing in conditions where the sun is not there. It’s cloudy, the weather’s a bit chilly, so you wear a jumper sometimes. It’s something you know, the Indian players, the West Indies players and the Sri Lankan players are not really used to, So it might be a little damp, a little light but you just feel a little heavy with it.”

“So, that’s one thing and because in these conditions the ball swings in the air and not just after pitching which doesn’t happen in India and so there is swing in the air which can sometimes take you a while to get used to and That’s why when you are going abroad, people usually suggest that you should play two or three practice matches, so that you will have a better idea of ​​what to expect when you are playing Test matches.”

The 73-year-old feels that having experienced the conditions at The Oval, Cheteshwar Pujara can give some valuable information to the team.

Gavaskar said, “The fact that he has been around would mean that he must have also seen how the pitch is behaving at the Oval. He may not have played at the Oval, he is not far from London in Sussex.” Maybe but keeps an eye on what is happening and his inputs will be invaluable as far as the batting unit is concerned or as far as the captaincy is concerned.”

Gavaskar said, “As far as the Oval pitch is concerned, he will have a captain here and don’t forget that he has captained the team as well, so he must have worked out some strategies considering that the Australian team has Steve Smith, his partner.”(IANS)

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