Published: Mar 16, 2019, 04:18 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 16, 2019, 04:18 PM (IST)
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that to avoid the recent controversy surrounding KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya, senior members have to play the role of a mentor and guide these youngsters.
Rahul and Pandya drew widespread flak after their controversial remarks on women while appearing together in an Indian TV chat show. They were called home midway from the tour of Australia and there were reports that the duo was to be slapped with significant punishments that could end their ICC World Cup hopes.
“I have to mention that it (stardom) is quite a tough thing to handle at the beginning of your career… When you have to constantly improve your game and at the same time match up the expectation of the people as a celebrity or icon,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by IANS on Saturday.
He further added, “The attention that you get outside, and then focusing on the game so that you can maintain the attention. That is why it is important that senior players should mentor and guide these youngsters who have already gone through that phase.”
Gavaskar said the popularity of T20 cricket has impacted batting in Test cricket which has only made the longest format more exciting. “Even youngsters know that a cricketer will be remembered in the history based on his performance in Test Cricket. That is classic, that is ultimate. But because the new generation is playing a lot of T20 and 50 over (ODI) format we are scoring more runs, and Test matches have become more result oriented than draws, that used to happen earlier. That also made a test match more exciting to watch,” he said.
