Sunil Gavaskar not interested in India job, says coach needs to watch every ball

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Batting great Sunil Gavaskar was presented with a rather tricky question on the possibility of him one day becoming a coach for the national cricket team.

A fan posed the question to the 68-year-old during the pre-match show ahead of the third India-New Zealand T20I match in Thiruvananthapuram. The official broadcasters of the series started #AskTheExperts on Twitter to keep the fans engaged even as rain delayed the toss.

Gavaskar offered a polite no to the proposition, saying a coach's job entails watching every ball and each runs scored, which he can't do.

Besides hosts Mayanti Langer and Gavaskar, former India opener Aakash Chopra and ex-Kiwi all-rounder Scott Styris also joined the panel.

Earlier, responding to VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar's criticism of MS Dhoni, Gavaskar said that it's "unfortunate" to "only point fingers at Dhoni" for India's defeats.

In two different post-match shows, Test icon Laxman and former India pacer Agarkar had suggested that Dhoni should now only focus on ODIs and allow a youngster to take his place in T20Is. While Gavaskar respected their opinions, he believed there were many other reasons for India's defeat than Dhoni, who eventually scored 49 in 37 balls with a late blitz.

"VVS and Ajit are completely entitled to their opinion. They have played a lot of cricket for India and it is their view. It might not necessarily be the selectors' nor the captain's view and we just have to wait and see," Gavaskar said talking to NDTV.

The series decider in Thiruvananthapuram got delayed due to rain.