Sunil Gavaskar lambasts 'Gamball' Theory, proposes new name after India captain Rohit Sharma

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The Indian cricket team's recent aggressive play in the second Test against Bangladesh has been attributed to captain Rohit Sharma by Sunil Gavaskar.

Despite rain and a wet outfield affecting three days of play in Kanpur, Rohit's leadership led to a decisive victory. The bowlers dismissed Bangladesh twice in two days to complete a clean sweep in the Test series.

The aggressive play from the Indian team while batting was hugely appreciated and has been gaining a new term 'Gamball'. But Gavaskar criticised the term 'Gamball,' suggesting it doesn't suit Gautam Gambhir's style, as he never played that way.

Instead, Gavaskar proposed naming the approach after Rohit Sharma. He noted that while England's batting changed under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, Rohit has been promoting this style for years.

"As seen in India last year, this approach doesn't work in Test matches and may surprise the opposition for a game or two at best. While one paper called the Indian batting "Bossball" because the captain or "boss" of the team, Rohit, had shown the way, some from the old powers referred to it as "Gamball" after the Indian coach, Gautam Gambhir," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Gavaskar emphasised that Gambhir's brief coaching stint doesn't justify crediting him with this strategy. He argued that Gambhir rarely batted like McCullum did. Gavaskar insisted that any recognition should go solely to Rohit Sharma for his influence on the team's approach.

"While the England batting approach changed completely under the new regime of Ben Stokes and McCullum, we have seen over the last couple of years that Rohit has been batting like this and encouraging his team to do so as well".

"Gambhir has only been coaching for a couple of months, so attributing this approach to him is foot-licking of the highest quality. Gambhir himself hardly ever batted in this fashion like McCullum used to do. If any credit is due, it is solely to Rohit and nobody else," the former India player added.

Instead of adopting terms like "this-ball" or "that-ball," Gavaskar suggested using Rohit's first name to coin 'Gohit', which is different from Bazball and gives it a different identity.

Gavaskar's comments underline Rohit's pivotal role in shaping India's current playing style. His leadership has evidently inspired a more dynamic and record-breaking performance from his team. The India captain has shown the path of destructive batting approach for the team, sacrificing his own wicket often for the greater good.