Twenty20 is bad for youngsters, says Gaekwad

VADODARA: Former India cricket coach and opening batsman Anshuman Gaekwad took a dig at the newest form of the game saying that Twenty20 was bad for youngsters.

"Twenty20 is not meant for youngsters. For youngsters it is very important to have their basics right. In Twenty20 cricket you don't need to have your basics right because you don't need to play cricketing shots to score runs," Gaekwad said here Friday.

"It is a game for the mass and not the class. For youngsters my advice will be to focus on Test cricket. Players who are doing well in Twenty20 are those who have proved themselves in Test and One-day cricket," the former Indian coach said.

"The real test of talent lies in Test cricket. ODIs are also an improvisation of Test cricket. In ODIs you have to play pure cricketing shots if you have to succeed," said Gaekwad, who is the son of former Test captain Dattajirao Kishnarao.

Gaekwad, who has the slowest double century record to his name, also criticised the new initiatives taken by different bodies to promote cricket at the grassroots level by organising Twenty20 tournaments.

"It is a wrong way to promote cricket at the grassroots level. This will have a negative effect on the game," he said.

The former India coach seemed to have been impressed by newly appointed captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who led the nation to victory in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

"Dhoni has all the ingredients of a good captain. The only thing he lacks is experience. I think he should be given more time to mature," he said.

Gaekwad rubbished claims that the Indian team was suffering from a hangover from the Twenty20 win, which has resulted in three losses in the ongoing seven-match series.

"I would have agreed to it, but after seeing India winning in Chandigarh, I am not ready to buy that theory. The only problem is that we are playing badly against a tough opposition like Australia," he said.

On the role of three seniors, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, the former India coach said: "They have proved their critics wrong. They have been the most consistent performers in the team. Let the youngsters prove themselves and then challenge the three seniors."