Sunil Gavaskar asks Mithali Raj’s India to stare at the opposition like Virat Kohli

Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian cricketer, has put forth a suggestion for the Indian women’s ODI team, captained by Mithali Raj. One of the finest batters of the modern era, Raj is currently the leading run-scorer in women’s ODIs after she surpassed England’s Charlotte Edwards during the 2017 World Cup in England where her team ended as the runners-up.

Mithali, who made her debut as a 16-year-old, has served the nation for as long as 21 years. Recently, she announced that she would be hanging her boots from cricket after the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand. Mithali and Gavaskar were present during the virtual launch of the book- 1971: The Beginning of India’s Cricketing Greatness.

During the interaction, Gavaskar went down the memory lane and talked about India’s nine-run defeat in the final against Heather Knight’s England at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium. Gavaskar stated that, instead of looking down, Mithali and Co. should take a cue from Virat Kohli’s aggressive intent and stare back at the opposition.

I feel body language is a very important aspect: Sunil Gavaskar

“I was with my wife at Lord’s watching the 2017 Women ODI World Cup final. What I saw was that English girls came hard at your lower order and intimidated them with their attitude,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying while speaking a co-panellist during the virtual discussion.

“I would want the girls to glare back at the opposition instead of looking down. I feel body language is a very important aspect. Look at Virat Kohli, he stares at opposition and the rest of the team does that,” he added.

As far as Kohli is concerned, he is busy leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2021 Indian Premier League. On April 22, on the back of Devdutt Padikkal’s maiden IPL ton, RCB beat the Rajasthan Royals by 10 wickets in Mumbai. Thereafter, Kohli lauded the southpaw for his knock.

“It was an outstanding innings. He batted really well for his first season last time. There was a lot of talk about him not accelerating after getting to his 30s. He’s put all that to rest. It was a good pitch to bat on, to be honest, and him being tall meant that bowlers struggled with their lengths,” Kohli said.