After India suffered a humiliating 1-3 series defeat against Australia in the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which concluded on Sunday (January 5), former Indian captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar slammed Indian players and also called for the end of star culture in Indian cricket. Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, was furious after disappointing performances by Indian players on the tour Down Under and said that players need to show their commitment to the sport.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar doesn’t want this trend to continue and has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stop admiring players and take strict action for the betterment of Indian cricket.
Speaking to Star Sports after the end of the Sydney Test, Gautam Gambhir was all praise for youngsters Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yashasvi Jaiswal. He called them hungry to earn a name for themselves, hence the type of players that India needs. He also pointed out that he wants to see players who show commitment to the Indian team. Hence, he is interested to see who plays Ranji Trophy matches from January 20.
Jasprit Bumrah the lone shining star as India loses BGT 2024-25 3-1 tamely to Australia
India suffered a massive loss by 6 wickets in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They thus lost the series 3-1, and failed to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship 2025. Despite the loss, the man who stole the show for India with his incredible performance with the ball, where he picked up 32 wickets and won the Player of the Series awards.
Team India’s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer for the visitors in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was the Player of the Series for claiming 32 wickets at an average of 13.06, with three five-fers and two four-fers to his credit. There was precious little from the other big names.
Apart from Rohit, Virat Kohli also had a poor tour, managing only 190 runs in nine innings. Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant scored 255 runs with a solitary half-century, while KL Rahul finished with 276 from 10 innings at a disappointing average of 30.67. Yashasvi Jaiswal impressed with 391 runs from 10 innings, while Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed 298 runs, which included a hundred in Melbourne.
India was in pole position to qualify for the third World Test Championship final in a row after the conclusion of the two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh in the first week of October, but Rohit Sharma’s men could only manage to win one of the last eight Tests, which ended its chances of winning another ICC trophy.
Virat Kohli has opted out of matches for personal reasons in the last few years. He missed one of the T20I matches against Afghanistan to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. He left the team before the start of the Test series in South Africa to celebrate New Year with wife Anushka Sharma. The veteran was unavailable for the five-Test series against England to be with his better-half, who was expecting their second child.
Rohit Sharma was not a part of the first Test against Australia to attend the birth of his second kid. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar doesn’t want this trend to continue and has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stop admiring players and take strict action for the betterment of Indian cricket.
India’s failure to qualify for the third WTC final in a row irked many fans and former players, and following India’s first Test series defeat against Australia since 2014-15, Gavaskar urged the BCCI to put their foot down and take strict measures to restore accountability .Reacting to India’s 1-3 Test series defeat in Australia, Gavaskar mentioned that players who are committed should be selected.
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar urges BCCI to get strict and stop pampering cricketers
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to stop being admirers of players and take strict measures to bring Indian cricket back on track. Reacting to India’s 3-1 Test series defeat in Australia, Gavaskar opined that only players fully committed to the team’s cause must be selected for national duty.
Having been thumped 3-0 at home by New Zealand, India raised hopes of a good showing Down Under by winning the opening Test in Perth by 295 runs. However, the visitors lost three of the next four games to concede the covered Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking after India’s six-wicket defeat in the fifth and final Test in Sydney on Sunday, January 5, Gavaskar opined that the BCCI must identify and back only those cricketers who are committed to the team. He told India Today:
“I think the next 8–10 days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself. Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection.”
The 75-year-old batting legend expressed disappointment over India not reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final and asked for much better commitment from players going forward.
“We don’t need players who are partly here and partly elsewhere. It’s time to stop pampering anyone. The recent results have been disappointing—we should have been in the World Test Championship final but didn’t make it,” Gavaskar said.
“The cricket board needs to stop acting like admirers and put their foot down. They must tell the players that Indian cricket comes first. It’s either a full commitment to Indian cricket or other priorities—you can’t have it both ways. If Indian cricket is your priority, only then should you be selected,” the former India captain concluded.
Sunil Gavaskar also pointed out that he wants to see players who show commitment to the Indian team. Hence, he is interested to see who plays Ranji Trophy matches from January 20, especially among the players who have retired from T20Is, thus hinting at Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja.
“The commitment is what I want to see. That’s why I’m interested that on January 23, in the Ranji Trophy matches, who will play. I want to see that. Because at that time, there will be T20 matches against England. But those who are not playing T20, will they play Ranji Trophy matches or not “ Gavaskar added.
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Indian cricket team’s support staff after their abysmal tour of Australia ended with a 1-3 scoreline.
While most of the Indian cricket team players have been singled out for criticism, Gavaskar also pointed fingers at the coaches. Since taking over the reins of the Indian cricket team from Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir has brought Abhishek Nayar batting coach, Ryan ten Doeschate as fielding coach and Morne Morkel as bowling coach. It would be interesting to see that how the Indian selectors and team management fare with their recent failures to ensure improvements in the future times to come .