Gavaskar says it’s time for India to win overseas

Dharamsala 

Effusive in his praise for the Indian team, former captain Sunil Gavaskar today said Virat Kohli’s men need to produce results overseas after dominating at home. “That’s (winning overseas) what we always want to do, that’s the test we set ourselves as players,” he said. “We are familiar with home conditions. It is great that we do well at home, it is pretty much expected. But winning overseas is a completely different satisfaction.” Gavaskar also praised Steve Smith for apologising for letting his “emotions slip” during the aggressively-contested series. “Smith is a big man because for him to accept he has made a mistake just shows what a big man he is. I am so happy he has come and done that,” Gavaskar said. “We all make mistakes, we all get carried away in the heat of the moment but to accept it like he has done is a huge thing. My respect for Smith as a batsman is huge and my respect for him as a person has gone even higher.”    

Kolkata

This series will be remembered for long: Katich 

Former Australian batsman Simon Katich today said that too much should not be read into the aggression displayed by both India and Australia in the hard-fought series. “India deserve a lot of credit for fighting back after they were handsomely beaten in Pune. They dug deep and showed why they are the No. 1 team in the world,” said Katich. “Regardless of what happened at different times, I thought it was a fantastic series. Sometimes in Test cricket, emotions take over and players do get carried away. It was a fantastic series that will be remembered for a long time.”     

Dharamsala

Ashwin receives Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy 

Ravichandran Ashwin received the Garfield Sobers Trophy for being named the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year here today. “It has been a great honour to be named by the ICC for two top awards and it is dreamlike to actually receive them here,” Ashwin said. “What has been greatly satisfying for me is that I have helped the team do well during this period. We have a great unit that has done well across formats. Being on top of the Test table, in particular, is an accomplishment we are all proud of.” — Agencies