Sunil Gavaskar slams Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 'costly' 19th over vs AUS, says 'somebody with his experience...'

Source: Twitter

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has come down hard on the Indian cricket team, especially pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his horrific 19th over in the loss vs Australia in the 1st T20I at PCA stadium in Mohali. Australia beat India by 4 wickets to kickstart the three-match series with a win. These losses right before the World Cup are worrying the experts and fans in India. Especially, India's constant struggle to defend the runs. India captain Rohit Sharma too was critical of the bowlers who could not defend a total beyond the 200-run mark. 

Gavaskar has joined the chorus and has slammed Team India, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar who bowled an expensive 19th over that played a big role in India losing the match. Bhuvi bowled 4 overs for 52 runs on Tuesday without picking a single wicket. The former captain calls India's poor show with the ball in the death overs a real concern. 

“I don’t think there was too much dew. We didn’t see the fielders or bowlers trying to use the towel to try and dry their fingers. That’s not an excuse. We didn’t bowl well. For example, that 19th over… that’s a real concern,” Gavaskar said on Sports Today.

Things went right down to the wire but it's Australia who won the first #INDvAUS T20I.#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the second T20I.

Scorecard _ https://t.co/ZYG17eC71l pic.twitter.com/PvxtKxhpav— BCCI (@BCCI) September 20, 2022

He added that an experienced campaigner like Bhuvneshwar Kumar going for runs is a real concern for India. "Somebody like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar is going for runs every single time, when he is expected. In 18 deliveries he has bowled in three matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and now Australia, he has given away 49 runs," said Gavaskar. 

 The 1983 World Cup winner though said that India definitely missed Jasprit Bumrah and his arrival in XI will solve some problems, for example, picking up wickets at the top.

"Maybe when Bumrah comes in, it might be a completely different situation because he gets wickets at the top. India didn’t get those today (Tuesday) as Australia got off to a flying start," said Gavaskar.