It'll be Sachin versus Aussies: Gavaskar

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New Delhi: CNN-IBN spoke to former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar in a special show, Sunny side up, ahead of the India-Australia One-day series. Gavaskar answered some of the most debatable questions in Indian cricket including the Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar's battle with the Australians. The legendary batsman also said that Yusuf Pathan, who was dropped from the Indian squad for the Australia series, got a raw deal.

Sunil Gavaskar: Yusuf Pathan can change a match in the last 5-10 overs. He is the kind of batsman who can do that and also come in and bowl you a few overs and fill up the fifth bowler's quota. To say that he didn't score too many runs is a little bit unfair, because he comes in to bat at No. 6, where you get very few overs.

All a No. 6 or a No. 7 batsman, and it's not just Yusuf, has to do is go out and smash. He has no time to play himself in. He does it for the team because the team needs it.

CNN-IBN: A big part of the India-Australia series is Sachin Tendulkar taking on the Australian bowlers. Do you think he is raring to go give it to them?

Sunil Gavaskar: Yes, he is really hungry. He has been out of cricket for some time now and I think now he is ready to go back and show that he still has all the shots in the book. I think it will be Sachin against the Australians. He will be opening the batting. So I think they will be looking to get him out to psychologically scar the Indians.

Both Sachin's Test and ODI record against the Australians is fabulous. He has come up with his best against the best team in the world.

CNN-IBN: But the contest everyone is looking forward to is not Tendulkar versus the Australian bowlers but Tendulkar versus Ponting.

Sunil Gavaskar: I think because Ricky Ponting has been captain of the Australian team both times during consecutive Ashes loss in England, he will be determined now to make people forget that, which can only happen with him scoring heavily and leading Australia to victories. That's the way he approached the seven-match ODI series against England after the Ashes; then also in the Champions Trophy, he approached the same way. I think that's the way they are going to play till they come up against England in Australia in 2011.

CNN-IBN: Do you think Indians will be looking to exploit Australia's somewhat brittle middle order?

Sunil Gavaskar: Yes, that is going to be the key in the middle overs because around the 35th to 50th over, if the Indians have the Australian top order back in the pavillion, then they should hope to dismiss them fairly quickly.

I also think that in the Australian bowling Brett Lee, who will want to show that he belongs to the top hierarchy is the one to watch out for. Mitchell Johnson is still finding his feet after an ordinary summer in England as a bowler. So that is another weakness that the Indians can exploit.

CNN-IBN: Do you think that the Australians will be worried about the Indian batting with Yuvraj and Sehwag making a return?

Sunil Gavaskar: That will be their biggest worry because if Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson cannot get going from the start and can't get the first three-four batsmen in the first 20 overs, they may be in for a leather hunt. And now due to the effect of T20, you are going to have regular 300 plus scores in ODIs because batsmen will play shots with a lot more freedom and probably, shots that earlier they were not too confident about.

CNN-IBN: One problem that the Indians will have is that they don't have an all-rounder like Shane Watson.

Sunil Gavaskar: Watson as a bowler may not be as effective in India in terms he will not be a five-for bowler, he might just get you the odd wicket. As a batsman he has come along really well after opening the batting for Australia. Now he is confident of his place in the team and that has made a big difference. India is struggling but I think somebody like a Harbhajan who now believes a lot in his batting has the makings of the all-rounder. He may make a difference at No. 7. In fact, in the Challenger series, Dhoni sent him at No. 3 to give him the confidence.

CNN-IBN: In fact Harbhajan said that Mr. Gavaskar has asked me to get a hundred.

Sunil Gavaskar: No, I asked him why he hasn't got that hundred. If he gets a hundred, he will then start believing a lot more in himself as a batsman. What happens with bowlers is that they think if Tendulkar and Dravid haven't got runs, how can I get them? But if they stay at the crease, things will change.

They have to remember as bowlers they don't get easy wickets from the opposition's No. nine, 10 and 11, so why should they make it easy for the opposition bowlers.

CNN-IBN: Do you think there is a place for Irfan Pathan in the Indian squad?

Sunil Gavaskar: I don't think we should forget him. He should certainly be kept in the fringe because he is a very fine all-rounder. May be his performances in the recent times have not been up to the selectors' or viewers' expectations but he is a quality cricketer and you cannot forget quality cricketers like that.

CNN-IBN: You feel India should favour its strength and play both Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra on turning tracks?

Sunil Gavaskar: I would much rather have matches played on pitches like in Hyderabad that we saw in the Champions League. The ball comes on to the bat really well, which suits Indian batsmen like Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Yuvraj and Dhoni. A spinners' track that is going to turn will not help either them either. A good spinner like Harbhajan will be able to bowl on any surface.

So I would much rather have a good pitch that gives both teams an equal chance but perhaps because it's a good batting pitch, it will help the Indians because Indians have quality spinners while Australians don't.

CNN-IBN: In terms of pace bowling, which side has the advantage with Ishant not doing well and Brett Lee is in form?

Sunil Gavaskar: Brett Lee, Mtchell Johnson and Peter Siddle are going to be a handful, make no mistakes about that. We saw in the Champions Trophy, they have not given too many runs except an odd match. And Brett Lee has bowled brilliantly in the Champions League. So I don't think it's going to be easy for the Indian batsmen but for the likes of Sehwag and Gambhir, there are no such things as a good length or a good delivery. And if they get going, it won't matter, who is bowling. They are just going to carve runs from everywhere.

CNN-IBN: There is this big debate of should ODI cricket need to be reformatted so that it should remain relevant in the T20 age.

Sunil Gavaskar: It's a big call for the administrators. My feeling is that when ODI caught the fancy of the public, you had reduction in number of Test matches. So a five-Test series became a three-Test series. So I think with the advent of T20 is that the ODI matches are going to get reduced. So instead of a seven-match ODI series, you

have a four-match ODI series and four or five T20 games. That is going to be the future of international tours and international cricket. But I don't think ODIs will go out of the picture for four-five years because there are a lot of TV contracts that are linked to ODIs. And obviously, a TV company will be a lot more happy with 100 overs than 40 overs. By the time, one inning is over in an ODI, one and a half games are over in T20.

CNN-IBN: A lot of big names like Sachin Tendulkar, who believes two 25-over innings should be played in ODIs, or Anil Kumble who thinks it should be reduced to 40 overs, say that the way One-day cricket is played should be changed. Are you happy to stick to the 50-over format?

Sunil Gavaskar: Yes, at the moment because it has been successful for such a long period of time. When ODIs came in, everybody said Test cricket is going to die. That didn't happen, in fact Test cricket got energised by it. Suddenly, you saw a lot many shots being played and a lot more runs being scored in Tests. And Test cricket, instead of meandering into draws, started having results in almost every game. In the same way, I think T20 is also going to lift up One-day cricket. 300 plus scores is going to be the norm.

I am not sure about changes in the format because what you don't want is the confusion in the minds of the public.