Sunil Gavaskar questions 'Highly Rated' Ollie Pope, claims India pitches hardest to bat on

Young England batsman Ollie Pope was one of the prospects to look forward to in the ongoing four-match Test series in India. However, the 23-year-old has had a tour to forget thus far, as he has managed to gather just 109 runs off six innings in the first three matches. As Pope arrived at the middle on Day 1 of the fourth Test, former Indian captain and expert commentator Sunil Gavaskar questioned his batting technique and discussed in length the challenges of batting in Indian conditions.

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India vs England 4th Test: Sunil Gavaskar talks about Ollie Pope and batting in India

Ollie Pope arrived in India while holding a Test average of 38. However, the same average dropped to 32.78 in a space of six failed innings on tough batting surfaces. Despite being of the highly-rated emerging stars from England, Pope’s abilities with the bat and his failures in India were discussed by Sunil Gavaskar, when the latter was on a commentary duty on Day 1 of the series-deciding Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Sunil Gavaskar claimed that batting in Indian conditions is the toughest task in Test cricket. According to the cricketer-turned-commentator, “concentration levels” while batting in India needs to be higher than batting in SENA countries. Gavaskar said that since spin plays a big role on Indian tracks, a batsman needs to have a “greater judgement” as there are various movements associated while tackling the turning ball. On the other hand, batting in SENA countries predominantly tests a batsman's courage more than concentration as he or she only has to move forward or backward.

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Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle asked Gavaskar if a batsmen’s confidence also matters for succeeding on Indian pitches. Bhogle was referring to Ollie Pope’s lack of runs in the recent matches and wondered whether his confidence has also impacted his form. Gavaskar responded that confidence does matters as it directly affects a batsman’s judgement. The former Indian captain was of the opinion that an overseas batsman should not be rated highly until they have tasted success on tough Indian conditions.

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At the time of publishing, England reached 144-5 off 55.2 overs. Ollie Pope was batting at 21* and he was joined at the crease by Dan Lawrence (15*).

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For India vs England live streaming in India, fans can tune in to the Star Sports Network. Meanwhile, for India vs England live scores, one can visit the official website and social media pages of the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The live streaming of the India vs England 4th Test is also available for fans on the Disney+ Hotstar app.

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Image source: PTI and ICC Twitter