The former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar, has slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the delayed arrival of their regular leader, Rohit Sharma, for the opening encounter of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, as the latter was on paternity leave for the birth of his second child.
Jasprit Bumrah led the blue brigade in the absence of Rohit and shouldered them to 1-0 up with a 295-run victory. Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t in favor of a team arriving for a series without their captain, as that can energize the opponent side. He lashed out at the management in his recent column for Sportstar.
The Nagpur-born joined the Indian team ahead of the second day-night pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval and ended poorly with 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20 and the best score of 10. The veteran, who started the trip in the middle order, was promoted to the opening position, but nothing worked out as he opted out of the fifth New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
“The mistakes that were made in Australia should not be repeated. The team should arrive in England in one group and not in four batches as was done in Australia. For the first two days in Australia, the team was without a captain, vice-captain, and coach.” Sunil Gavaskar expressed in his column.
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“What kind of a message does it send to the home team? That here’s a team that has arrived with no leadership group and can be easily broken with a few tough performances. Surely, the BCCI will not allow this to happen again.” The former Indian opening batter wrote in his column.
Sunil Gavaskar points out the uncertainty of selectors in building a Test squad
The Mumbai-born highlighted that only if a player is recovering from an injury, he could take a break, but the leaders must be the first ones to arrive in the country and make a statement before the opposition.
“Yes, the odd player who is recovering from injury can join the team later, but the leaders must be the first to arrive to make a statement that the team is ready for battle.” Sunil Gavaskar shed light.
The 75-year-old also suggested that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee trim the size of the Test squad for their upcoming red-ball trip to England in June, which will mark the beginning of the third cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2025-27.
For the first time in three cycles, they have failed to reach the final of the event after being whitewashed to New Zealand at home by a 0-3 margin and losing the BGT since 2014-15.
“It was understandable to some extent to have a large squad of around 20 for Australia, as it is not an easy place to reach, and the body clock does take a few days to adjust to the local time zone.” Sunil Gavaskar elaborated.
The veteran reckoned that a larger squad for any trip shows the uncertainty among the selectors in deciding the team. He warned them to be mindful of handing the prestigious cap of India.
“This is not so much of a problem in England, but the change in weather conditions from the hot Indian summer to the cool winds in England can be tricky at the best of times. Still, carrying more than 16 players will indicate the selectors are unsure, and that’s never a good sign.” Sunil Gavaskar added.
“Just because the BCCI can afford to send a large party doesn’t mean the India cap should be given just like that. The usual problem overseas is a lack of practice bowlers, so by all means, take a few bowlers over, and they can be given the training and clothing, but not the India cap.” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.