Pleasure to Perform Against Pressure to Perform: Sunil Gavaskar Spells Out What 'Difference Captaincy Makes'

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar drew parallels between India’s series wins over England at home and away to Australia. He reasoned that youngsters stepped up when the seniors were not available.

Writing in his column for MidDay, Gavaskar highlighted the role of the leadership think tank of Team India as well as lauding the role of the captain in helping to guide the young sides.

“The team that took the field was like the one that took the field in the fourth and final Test match at Brisbane in 2021. There were no big names there, just big hearts and a determination to show that they could take on the responsibility and shoulder any burden that was given to them,” Gavaskar wrote in his column.

“Credit also has to be given to the captains who handled the inexperienced players superbly, giving them the encouragement and belief that they were more than good enough to fill in the big gaps left by the big guys’ absence. They showed that they had learnt from the big guys too as they played above and beyond expectations to register victories that will be remembered for a long, long time. What it also showed was the difference captaincy makes. Pleasure to perform against pressure to perform makes for wins rather than narrow losses,” he added.

In the 2020-21 series against Australia, India were thrashed after being bowled out for their lowest-ever Test score of 36. Virat Kohli, who was the India captain then, flew back to India for the birth of his first child. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari all suffered injuries but youngsters Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur stepped up. India went on to clinch the series 2-1.

In the series versus England, Kohli took time out to be with his family for the birth of his second child. India lost the first match in Hyderabad. Youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel stepped up in the absence of some of the seniors.

“Brisbane and Ranchi, both fourth Test matches of a series, should always be written in letters of gold in the history of Indian cricket as examples of how sheer love for the country can overcome any challenges,” Gavaskar said.