Sunil Gavaskar says India cannot take West Indies lightly

Sunil Gavaskar has warned India not to take West Indies lightly in their crucial T20 World Cup Super League clash in Kolkata. He praised India’s comeback against Zimbabwe and highlighted key performances by Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma

Hyderabad: India cannot take West Indies cricket team lightly when the two teams meet in Kolkata in their final Super League match of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, says former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar expert Gavaskar said: “As they say, why fix things if it ain’t broke? But India were broken against South Africa national cricket team. They realised they needed a right-left combination at the top. Learning from the previous game was very important.”

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“Now West Indies is a completely different challenge. They cannot be taken for granted. Their batters are in top form. Their bowlers are doing well. They punish opposition mistakes and strike at the right time. India will need a good plan to handle the West Indies batting threat,” Gavaskar said.

“Their batters start playing shots from ball one. They do not wait to see if the delivery needs respect. Their way of respecting the ball is by hitting it over the ropes. So India will have to play smart, come up with plans, and outfox West Indies in a way they do not expect. Sunday’s match is surely going to be a cracking one,” he said.

“India bounced back strongly from the South Africa loss with a dominant win over Zimbabwe national cricket team. The margin of that defeat against South Africa would have shaken the players, but they used it positively against Sikandar Raza’s team and made a strong comeback. After the match against South Africa, there was debate about whether India should make changes in the playing XI or not. They made two changes and both worked out quite well,” Gavaskar said.

“Sanju Samson did not get a fifty, but he gave India a flying start. Earlier, openers were getting ducks, with Abhishek Sharma getting out for zero in three games, while Ishan Kishan got out without scoring against South Africa. Against Zimbabwe, Samson scored 24 runs quickly. He and Abhishek scored at over 10 runs an over in the Powerplay, which was fantastic,” he said.

“The bowling improved too. Axar Patel kept things tight and picked up a wicket, which was missing against South Africa. Scoring 256 with most batters getting time in the middle is great. It builds confidence. But India cannot take the West Indies lightly. Sunday’s match decides if they go to the semis or wait for the 2028 T20 World Cup,” Gavaskar said.

On how Sanju Samson’s quick runs set the tone for India, Gavaskar said: “That six which Sanju Samson hit off the back foot straight over long off was amazing. It is not an easy shot to play off the back foot. You usually play towards mid-wicket or thereabouts. Then he hit another six over long on. Wonderful shots. It tells you the class of the man. In the interest of the team, he went for a big hit and got out. That is fine because he got India off to a flying start. In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, that is important. A flying start gives a nice platform for the other batters to come in and smash the ball around,” he added.

On Abhishek Sharma’s comeback knock, Gavaskar said: “We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 against Zimbabwe. He took that extra time to start his innings.

“There was a method to his batting. He respected the off-spinner, did not take any risks and played in a calm and composed manner. In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we do not usually see Abhishek do that. I really think this is a learning curve for him,” he said.

“Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring in back-to-back games. It is about how much you learn from it. I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata,” Gavaskar said.