Sunil Gavaskar believes that temperament triumphs over technique in international cricket

With the first Test between India and Australia just around the corner, there have been opinions flying around from all the senior players and former cricketers. Glenn McGrath is the latest to comment. He was of the opinion that India should not take the team from down under lightly. He also stated that they are a better team than England and have better balance.

Glenn Mcgrath believes that Mitchell Starc will trouble India. The star Australian bowler has a lot in his bank to get the better of Indian batsman. The legendary bowler talked about Starc reversing the bowl and if he does so the Indian batsmen will have a task on their hands.

“Starc is the best left-arm pacer in the world. He would be hungry to have a go at the Indians. It boils down to how quickly he gets to reverse the ball in Indian conditions. If he does it consistently, the Indian openers and top order will be in for some trouble.” said McGrath as per the quotes on New Indian Express.

There was another legend who talked about temperament and technique. The first man to reach 10,000 Test runs, Sunil Gavaskar talked about temperament being the key to success at the international level. One can understand the opinion of the former Indian skipper. He surely had superb technique but dwelled mostly on the temperament.

“I am a firm believer that temperament is more important than technique. You could have the best technique in the world, but if your spirit is fragile, you won’t succeed at the international level.” said the former skipper.

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He also went on to praise the Indian openers, Murali Vijay and Lokesh Rahul. He said that both the openers are mentally strong and can shine at the highest level. The 67-year-old also stated that it will be a huge test for both these players against the Australians. Even Karun Nair who has not done much after his triple century against England was praised by the Indian legend.

“Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have both shown good mental makeup so far. If they keep it up, they have long careers ahead of them, Karun too has shown good temperament. If he maintains it, he too can shine,” Gavaskar was quoted saying.

KL Rahul turned into an opener during the last season of IPL when he opened for his team. The assistant coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore B Arun explained his improvement. He said: “Rahul’s transformation happened during last year’s IPL. Our team management worked on his shot selection, and we got him to play positively from the word go. This, coupled with his adequate technique, ball sense and timing, helped him play all three formats the same way, and be the player he is now.”

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Even Murali Vijay has improved a lot with his shot selection and the deliveries outside off stump. His coach, Jayakumar believes he will play well against the Aussies. He said “Vijay is a player who wants to keep learning. He has improved his technique over the years and evolved as a player. He should come good against Australia.”