Stuart Binny would be my 3rd seamer in the World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the performance of the Indian bowlers, saying that they haven't learnt anything from the errors that they committed during the previous overseas tours and are bowling well within themselves at the moment.

"At the moment it just looks to me as if even the bowlers are bowling well within themselves. They have had a long tour, the Test series and they don't want to stretch themselves to such an extent that they might cause some injury to themselves going into the World Cup," Gavaskar told NDTV.

"The problem I think is that Indian bowlers have learned nothing from their overseas experiences over the years in limited-overs cricket. So that is a worry. We are just hoping that when the World Cup comes, the fact that they are the defending champions will give tremendous motivation,” he added.

The 65-year-old said that his new ball bowlers at the World Cup would be Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, and he would pick Stuart Binny as the third seamer.

"My first choice bowlers would be Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. I would go in with these two. I would go in with Stuart Binny and I will go in with two spinners as well.

“Because for the simple reason that Bhuvneshwar can also bat a little bit, he is also a very good fielder. Shami can also tonk along a bit and he is also a very good fielder. With Binny and the two spinners, they all bat,” the former India opener said.

"So I am looking at a team which will have batting depth. Considering the pitches where you are going to play on where the batsmen might just flounder a little bit, like they did at the Gabba. So if they have the batting depth then it sort of covers all my bases.

“While naming my 15 for the World Cup, I had picked Mohit Sharma ahead of Ishant Sharma, mainly because Mohit is a better fielder," he added.

He, however, did sound optimistic about India’s bowlers coming good at the World Cup, despite an average showing with the ball in the tri-series so far.

"They handled themselves really well in England. So I am hoping that they will be able to find the same rhythm thay had in England and restricted them to win the series 4-1. If that happens then India will be a formidable team.”

India can defend the World Cup Down Under: Gavaskar

India have lost their opening two games of the ongoing series, but Gavaskar feels that this team has what it takes to defend the World Cup crown.

"Yes, they are. I am pretty confident. Look qualifying for the knockouts should not be a problem. Once you get into the knockouts then it's the luck of the day that counts.

“Sometimes you play and miss, sometimes the luck not going your way you edge that ball. So all those things is going to be an important factor.

“But if India qualify by winning most of their league games then they will certainly be in the right frame of mind to defend the World Cup,” he added.

Kohli needs to stay still at the crease: Gavaskar

In the recent series, Virat Kohli has been sent in to bat at No.4 in the order, and Gavaskar feels that the team management is looking at the prospect of playing him at that position for a longer period of time.

"If you actually have a look at the last ODI series India played against Sri Lanka, you will find that after a couple of games when Virat was not performing he was dropped down the order. And again I think he was batting at No.4 when he got a hundred.

"So eventually I have a feeling that they are looking at Virat as a No.4 batsman and they will either have Ajinkya Rahane if they open with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan,” he added.

Despite having a terrific Test series, Kohli is yet to fire in the two ODI games that he has played so far. The former Indian captain feels that the 26-year-old is losing balance at the point of impact and needs to stop moving around the crease.

"What he's doing wrong is that he is trying something different at this moment. He is looking to go on the front foot and then jumping on to the backfoot well within the crease. What that is doing is that his head is bobbing up and down.

"In cricket the head has to be still, if your head is still then you are able to judge the bounce better. Unfortunately, because he is jumping and have a look at both his dismissals. His jumping is putting him off balance," he signed off.