London: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has reminded Ravi Shastri that India had won Test series in West Indies and England, a day after the under-fire coach claimed his side has better overseas record than teams of the last 15-20 years.
While India lost yet another Test series away from home following the 60-run defeat in the fourth Test against England at Southampton, head coach Shastri insisted the current side are better travellers than the teams of the last 15-20 years.
Gavaskar, once a teammate and captain of Shastri, recalled some of the series wins abroad by Indian teams of the past.
“All I can say is that no Indian team have won in Sri Lanka for a long time. But we have won in the West Indies, in England, Test matches in Australia and South Africa,” Gavsakar said Thursday.
The last time India won a Test series in England was in 2007, under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy.
I believe you can play Prithvi Shaw in the last Test. There is no harm in playing him as an opener
Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar criticised the batsmen for their inability to tackle England spinner Moeen Ali, who ended the game with nine wickets. “Lack of footwork has hurt Indian batsmen, they are not getting to the pitch of the ball against Moeen Ali. This comes from playing too much of white ball cricket, in ODIs you won’t have four slips when pacers are bowling and you can hit through the line.”
Though England have sealed it in their favour with three wins in four Tests, Gavaskar said the assessment of the team should be done after the last Test at the Oval.