Australian great Adam Gilchrist finds it “difficult” to adapt to the fast nature of Twenty20 cricket and says the slam bang format does not give players enough time to “correct mistakes”.
“I find it lot more difficult in T20 cricket where it is just happening and you don’t have time to make up for your mistakes or errors, such is the pace of that game,” said Gilchrist, who as captain of Kings XI Punjab is going through a lean patch in the ongoing Pepsi Indian Premier League.
“In Test match cricket, traditional longer cricket, it was somewhat easier to be able to do that. You had a bit of time, if you did indeed make an error of judgement or didn’t react appropriately. You have got time to rectify that,” the former Australian wicket-keeper batsman said.
Gilchrist has been struggling for runs in this edition of the IPL and had opted out of the playing XI against Mumbai Indians in Kings XI’s last game.
The veteran Australian said the decision to sit out was easy one but the realisation of going through a lean phase was difficult to accept.
“The end call wasn’t overly difficult but I guess coming to the realisation of that within yourself and acknowledging that you are not doing what you previously have been able to do,” said Gilchrist.
“I have been playing so little cricket now, it is probably no surprise that I am not quite able to (do) what the current players are. I came into (IPL) this time with great hopes and belief that I could contribute but it has to pass with the acknowledgement within that I am not quite there anymore,” he added.
Gilchrist, who has scored 94 runs in eight matches in this year’s IPL, feels there were enough talented youngsters to take his place in the side.
“Once you realise it, the decision to step aside is what we term a no-brainer. We have got such exciting talent. Youngsters, who given the opportunity could do very well. From a team’s perspective, that was a very easy call to make.”
“But I look forward to trying to contribute around the group in a leadership role. You don’t need to have captain next to your name to be a leader,” Gilchrist said at the FedEx Master of Deliveries event here last night.
Gilchrist, who was part of the Australian team that won three successive 50-over World Cups, said the trip to India in 2001 changed him.
“It was a talented bunch of cricketers to have in one generation. It still needed managing. I think we were very well managed by the leadership group that we had. I remember we came to India a number of times unsuccessful and this was the final frontier,” he said.
“At the start of 2001 tour, Steve Waugh wrote at the first team meeting a quote about attitude. It said attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? A great question to ask yourself every time you wake up. Going back to history, we were great whiners, we were out of our comfort zone here in India. So we could use that as an excuse,” he said.
“The conditions weren’t right, so that was an excuse. Steve wasn’t going to allow any of that. Although we didn’t win that series thanks to the good man here (Sourav Ganguly) and his team that he led so well. It was the catalyst for us to learn to deal with foreign conditions. The change that he (Waugh) created the atmosphere that we wanted to be (in), I think that was terrific leadership,” he added.
Gilchrist hailed English Premier League club Manchester United’s coach as one of the best leaders in sports.
“A stand out has been Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He formed a nucleus of players, nucleus of club. Every year even if they have won a title or two titles or three titles, they are just trimming around the edges, injecting new players, new attitude, new goals. It is a very important part of developing and progressing,” he said.
He feels communication is the key and cited the example of former Australian captain Mark Taylor who had one-on-one discussions with each member of the squad.
