I think Amit Mishra has been made a scapegoat: Sunil Gavaskar

Cricket great Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his surprise at the omission of spinner Amit Mishra from the Indian team for the 2nd Test against England in Visakhapatnam. Speaking to NDTV following the end of Day 1’s play, Gavaskar said, “It’s surprising that Amit Mishra has been dropped. I think he has been made a scapegoat for India’s failure to bowl out England in the 1st Test in Rajkot.”

Mishra had picked a total of three wickets in Rajkot, including two in England’s second innings. He was replaced by debutant Jayant Yadav for the 2nd Test on Wednesday. Jayant Yadav made his debut in the ongoing Test at Vizag and has had a successful time so far. The off-spinner first contributed with the bat, scoring 35 runs in the 64 runs stand for the 8th wicket with Ravi Ashwin. Later on, he made his presence felt with the ball and snapped his maiden wicket in the form of Moeen Ali and finished day two with figures of 1/11.

Gavaskar, however, reserved high praise for Indian skipper Virat Kohli and top-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, whose centuries put India in a commanding position at stumps on Day 1.

“Virat Kohli puts high-price on his wickets. He has a hunger for hundreds. And it’s not just his progress as a batsman, but his progress as a person has been phenomenal as well. He is a wonderful role model,” said Gavaskar. Kohli finished the day unbeaten on 151 as India were 317/4 at stumps.

Also, read – Since I have started playing serious cricket, I have dreamt of this day: Jayant Yadav

On Pujara, Gavaskar said, “Cheteshwar Pujara’s transformation has been great. He is playing a lot more shots. I hope his strike rate encourages IPL teams to pick him.”