New Delhi: According to ex-India captain Sunil Gavaskar, "The main reason for the team's early exit from the T20 World Cup was the incapability of Indian Batsmen to score well against strong teams." The veteran urged the team to change their playing approach during the powerplay overs.
India were eliminated from the semi-finals race after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand in the first two matches of the Super 12. Gavaskar said, "The way bowlers from Pakistan and New Zealand dominated our batsmen and did not let them play freely was the main reason why India wasn't able to progress further in the tournament. During the second innings, the dew was making batting easier as the bowlers went able to spin the ball and it ended up going straight in every delivery."
He added,"Although batting later would have been advantageous, it would only work if you would have scored 180 and above and the bowlers would have got an extra margin of 20-30 runs to defend. In a situation where the team made 111 (against New Zealand), the dew would have made no difference. We didn't score well and that's the main reason behind our loss, nothing else."
Sunil Gavaskar questions India's fielding:
Gavaskar didn't seem to be fond of radical changes in the team and had urged the team to change its attitude during the powerplay overs. He said, "I don't think a radical change in the team will make any difference. You need to change your attitude, like taking advantage of the powerplay overs, something that India have not been able to do in the last few World Cups." Gavaskar said, "The fact is that there were only two fielders are outside the 30-yard radius in the first six overs shows that India has not taken advantage of powerplay in the past few ICC tournaments."
He said, 'Whenever India faced a strong team which had good bowlers, it was not able to score well. There are some much-needed changes." Gavaskar also said that another reason for India's sluggish performance was bad fielding. He said, "Second and very important, the team should have some players who are unmatched in fielding. The way New Zealand fielded, saved runs, took catches, it makes a lot of difference."