New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar has advised the Indian youngsters to face pacers from 20 yards instead of 22 yards on the pitch to prepare for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia. After suffering a 3-0 whitewash in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand at home, India will be looking to bounce back in the much-anticipated five-match rubber against Australia Down Under.
India will lock horns with Australia in a five-match Test series starting November 22. Rohit Sharma-led visitors will be under significant pressure in the series with a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on the line. India need to win at least 4 of the five Test matches against Australia to seal a spot in the WTC final.
India have won their last two Test series in Australia but having hit a new low against New Zealand at home, the visitors will need to pull off a remarkable turnaround to emerge triumphant this time around. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Gavaskar said he wants the young Indian batters to thrive in Australian conditions and advised them to work hard on their batting.
On tackling the pace and bounce on Australian pitches, Gavaskar advised the Indian youngsters to face pacers on 20 years instead of the usual 22 yeards. However, the former India batter urged the Indian batters to no do so against Jasprit Bumrah, who can prove to be lethal on 20 yards.
“Just believe in yourself. Practice as much as you can. I think there is some merit in facing throwdowns. But it is more important to play regular bowling. Face the quicker bowlers. Not (Jasprit) Bumrah, of course, because Bumrah can kill you. But you can ask others to bowl from 20 yards instead of 22 yards. So therefore, the ball comes on to the bat quickly,” Gavaskar told the Indian Express.
Several Indian batters in the past have used the 20-yard technique to get better against pace. Former India opener Virender Sehwag had revealed in an interview he used to face pace bowlers from 20 yards when he fresh broke into international cricket to get used to fast bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee.
