Sunil Gavaskar sent a sterm message to the BCCI |Courtesy- IANS/AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Sunil Gavaskar was critical of India's leadership group
- Gavaskar called for major changes before the England tour
- India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar minced no words while talking about India's dismal performance during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the team lost the elusive trophy after 10 years following a 3-1 series defeat at the hands of Australia.
The Indian cricket legend was fuming at the leadership group as the team arrived in Australia in four batches. Gavaskar questioned the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, and head coach Gautam Gambhir from the tour for the first two days and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to avoid a similar mistake during the England tour.
"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 captain, vice-captain and coach. 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. 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," Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar.
For those unversed, Bumrah led the team during their victory in the opening Test at Perth as Rohit was absent following the birth of his son. The 37-year-old landed in Australia and linked up with the team mid-way through the first Test.
Gavaskar asked the team to play practice matches before the series against England even if they do not get to play against a quality opposition.
"Now that India hasn’t qualified for the WTC final, there’s an additional week for the team to acclimatise by playing some practice games. English conditions mean that the ball will swing in the air and seam after pitching. However much one practises in the nets, the knowledge that even if a batter gets out a few times in the net, he can carry on batting doesn’t make for good mental preparation. Never mind if the opposition for practice matches isn’t top class; the runs scored and wickets taken in a match will boost the confidence considerably," Gavaskar added.
"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. 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. 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.
"There will be some gaps between the Test matches, and these need to be utilised for practice games. Travel in England is by road almost every time, and the India team will drive down to the next Test venue on the last evening of the previous Test match. Since there won’t be a travel day involved, giving the next day off after the Test is understandable, but the next couple should be used for practice. This recent tradition of optional practice should be done away with, and only the coach and captain should decide who gets days off from practice, and this should not be left to the individual player to decide," Gavaskar concluded.
While the team's immediate focus is on a white-ball series against England at home and the 2025 Champions Trophy, the next red-ball assignment is a marquee five-match Test series against England away from home from June 20 to 4th August.
Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.
