Sunil Gavaskar, who blasted India’s rotation policy on Tuesday, urged the Indian team to ensure Sachin Tendulkar did not miss any match in the tri-series. Speculation is rife that the Little Master might be rested for India’s next match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Tendulkar looked in good touch as he scored 48 before being bowled by Angelo Mathews but it is still not clear whether the senior batsman would play the next ODI or not. The team management has opted for a rotation policy as Virender Sehwag was rested in the first match against Australia and Gautam Gambhir in Wednesday’s match. “I think Sachin should be playing in all the matches. If you want to use rotation policy then it should be used to rotate and field all the players. I believe that Tendulkar, Gambhir and Sehwag should play and may be one among Rohit Sharma or Suresh Raina has to sit out,” Gavaskar said.
“When you are choosing a squad of 16 and then you have to select the most balanced side. If someone is not performing then you should change him. But one needs to be upfront about it that you are dropping a player and not resting him. If someone is not performing he can be dropped and that’s a fair call.” Gavaskar praised Man-of-the-match Ravichandran Ashwin’s temperament. The Chennai player took three wickets and then came up with a crucial unbeaten 30-run cameo in India’s chase.
“Ashwin looked to be back at his best. The bouncy strip at the Perth also helped his bowling. He looked to be back to an easy action. I am glad that he is the Man of the Match as he showed a lot of courage during batting and also ice-cool temperament,” Gavaskar was full of praise for the Tamil Nadu all-rounder.
Gavaskar pointed out that Sri Lanka lacked a ” slow bowler”, but he lauded Virat Kohli for his knock of 77. “Virat is a quick learner. Wednesday, he ran for a non-existent single but from the next time he would realise that if he has pushed the ball that hard, he wouldn’t like to take a risk,” Gavaskar added.
