Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his disappointment with the Indian team's performance against England in the first Test at Headingley, particularly highlighting fielding errors and a batting collapse that shifted the momentum in England's favor. Gavaskar didn't mince words, labeling the day's showing as "very, very disappointing."
While acknowledging the centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant, Gavaskar pointed out that India squandered a dominant position due to a spectacular collapse where they lost their last seven wickets for a mere 41 runs. India had surged to 471, but the late-order batting failure proved costly.
Gavaskar specifically singled out Yashasvi Jaiswal for his subpar fielding performance. Jaiswal, who had earlier contributed with the bat, dropped crucial catches that allowed England's Ollie Pope to build a substantial innings. One such instance occurred when Jaiswal dropped Pope at third slip off Jasprit Bumrah's bowling. Gavaskar, commentating at the time, stated, "This was really very, very disappointing. Yashasvi Jaiswal is a very good fielder, but he hasn't been able to hold on to anything this time." He also added, "I don't think there'll be any medal given by T Dilip today," referring to the fielding medals usually awarded by the Indian team's fielding coach.
Adding to India's woes, Ravindra Jadeja also dropped a catch, and Bumrah was particularly unlucky, inducing edges that went down. Pope capitalized on these reprieves, going on to score a century that helped England reach 209/3 at stumps, trailing India by 262 runs.
Despite the criticism, it's important to note that Gavaskar has also been a vocal supporter of Jaiswal's talent. Earlier in the series, after Jaiswal scored a century, Gavaskar made a bold prediction, stating that Jaiswal "enjoys batting against England" and might score 800 runs in the series. He lauded Jaiswal as a "young and talented batter" and even suggested he is one of India's next Test ambassadors, along with Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant.
Gavaskar has also had a change of heart regarding Rishabh Pant. After Pant's century, Gavaskar showered praise on Pant, exclaiming "superb, superb, superb!". This was a stark contrast to his previous criticism of Pant during a Test match against Australia, where he called Pant's shot selection "stupid, stupid, stupid!".
In summary, while Sunil Gavaskar acknowledges the batting talent in the Indian team, including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, he didn't hold back in criticizing the team's sloppy fielding and batting collapse in the first Test against England. He specifically pointed out Jaiswal's dropped catches as a major disappointment, while also praising Pant's growth and maturity.
