00:00And joining me now is Sunil Gavaskar, we are going to raise that big question, is this
00:05the best ODI team and we'll also have our selection of India's best ever ODI team.
00:11Mr. Gavaskar, this Indian team has won 22 of their last 23 completed ICC white ball
00:17matches.
00:19Is this in your view the best ever Indian ODI team, white ball team?
00:26This is the best white ball team in the world at the moment, over the last couple of years
00:31definitely.
00:32I'm very, very reluctant to compare players and teams of different eras and different
00:39generations because of all the playing conditions, everything is different.
00:43The 1983 team that won the first World Cup played with a red ball and with no field restrictions,
00:49none of the two fielders outside, three fielders outside, none of that.
00:54Bouncers were freely allowed, the 2011 team was also playing under different conditions.
01:02So it's very difficult to compare teams.
01:05Like I said, this is the best team over the last two or three years in the white ball
01:09game.
01:10This Indian team is the best in the last couple of years because their performances, you just
01:15mentioned 22 out of 23 games that they won, that just tells you how dominant they are.
01:22What for you, Mr. Gavaskar, has been the standout aspect of this team that makes it
01:26really such a match-winning side?
01:33The all-round strength, the all-round strength of this team where the batting could be, batting
01:37order could be shuffled by the captain, the bowling, the options were such that the bowlers
01:42could be brought on at different times, different ends, depending on who the batter was, left
01:47hand, right hand, depending on what the size of the boundary on either side was, depending
01:52on where the breeze was coming from.
01:54So those options that the captain had was terrific.
01:59But then the captain had to utilize the strengths that he had in the ideal manner.
02:05And that is what was also the difference.
02:08The captain was superb in the way he handled his bowlers, the way he shuffled the batting
02:14order up and down, the field placing, the bowling changes, everything was absolutely
02:19top class.
02:20So that was the difference.
02:21The all-round strength and the captaincy, which was not quite seen in other teams.
02:27Interesting the way you're praising Rohit Sharma's captaincy, but how much of a difference
02:31Mr. Gavaskar at the end of the day did playing in Dubai, playing on slow spinning surfaces
02:37with a spin quartet?
02:43It was not a question of playing in Dubai or anywhere else, it's a question of playing
02:49good cricket.
02:50And that's what this Indian team did.
02:52Even if they had to play on different surfaces, they would have been able to do that.
02:58When you win 22, like you've just said, 22 out of 23 matches played in different conditions.
03:05Only five matches have been played in Dubai out of the 22 that have been won.
03:10The other 17 matches have been played elsewhere, different pitches, different conditions.
03:15So that actually tells you that if they had to play anywhere else, the result would still
03:20have been the same.
03:21India would still have been the champions.
03:24What for you was the turning point, though, in that final against New Zealand?
03:28Almost went to the wire, but when did that match turn?
03:35Possibly the wicket of Rachin Ravindra, because he was batting so well, Kuldeep Yadav getting
03:40out first ball was the reason why the Kiwi slowed down.
03:45Then in the next over, Kuldeep getting Kane Williams and another heavy scorer in the tournament
03:51cotton ball.
03:52That also was a big turning point.
03:54Otherwise, New Zealand could have ended up with maybe 280, 290.
03:59Both these informed batters had stitched together a partnership.
04:04Is there any player you want to single out in this Indian team for special praise, Mr.
04:08Gavaskar?
04:10I'd single out Kuldeep Yadav, because sometimes he goes under the radar, he picks wickets
04:17for you.
04:18I'll also look at KL Rahul.
04:20He kept wickets superbly and when needed, when he came into bat, he batted in a very
04:26positive manner.
04:27A couple of sixes that he hit in both the semis as well in the final, absolutely top-class
04:31batting.
04:32So these are the two players I would certainly look at.
04:38Just a final question.
04:39Do you think Rohit Sharma should now step aside from red ball cricket, just focus on
04:43white ball and probably hope to lift the 2027 World Cup?
04:49That is for Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee to decide, not for me.
04:56Sunil Gavaskar leaving that ball outside the off stump with that last question.
05:00I was speaking to him earlier.
05:02He was in Dubai.
Comments