T20 World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar addresses hype on MS Dhoni's role with Team India, says 'mentor can't do much'
Sunil Gavaskar on Friday, while talking about MS Dhoni's role with Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup, remarked that there is only so much a mentor can do.
Legendary batter and former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Friday, while talking about MS Dhoni's role with Team India in the ongoing T20 World Cup, remarked that there is only so much a mentor can do and that it's the players that have to go out and perform the 'actual task.'
The BCCI, alongside announcing India's T20 WC squad, also disclosed that Dhoni will join the team as the mentor. Since then, the buzz surrounding India's campaign has only seen a sharp rise.
Addressing the hype during a conclave organized by Sports Tak, Gavaskar quipped: "Mentor can't do much," Gavaskar said on the show 'Salaam Cricket'. "Yes, he can help you prepare in change room as it's a fast-paced game and if needed, help you tweak the tactic. May be speak to batters and bowlers during the time-out, so the move to employ Dhoni is a good one but Dhoni will be in the change room, and it's the players who have to perform the actual task in the middle. How they handle pressure would determine what the result will be."
Former India opener also believes that skipper Virat Kohli will feel lesser pressure now that he has decided to quit captaincy in the T20 format.
“When you become a captain, you can't just think about yourself, he has to speak to a batter who is going through a bad patch or discuss strategies with a bowler. Amid all this, one tends to neglect his own form,” he added.
When you don't have that pressure, you can focus on your own game. I think it will be good for Virat that after T20 World Cup, he doesn't have to think about responsibilities. So he can focus on his own game and score as many runs as possible.
Cricketer-turned-expert Gavaskar pointed out that India's failure to win knock-out games in global tournaments has been primarily due to faulty team selections.
"India's problem in big matches has been team combination. If they would have got the final XI selection right in knock-out games, they would have had less problems. At times, your thought process is different," he said.
He further explained: "In knock-outs and finals, you should bat first, put runs on the board, whatever you put, 140 may be, the other team has to score and it's not always easy to score at seven runs per over in international cricket.
"So when we haven't batted first, in a chase, if you lose one or two wickets, you consolidate and then catch up becomes a problem and they (Indian batters) have been found wanting."
India will begin their campaign against Pakistan on October 24, Sunday, at the Dubai International Stadium.