Sunil Gavaskar has strongly criticized Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pose tough questions to both Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid.
Gavaskar highlighted several mistakes made by the Indian team management during the World Test Championship (WTC) and also expressed disappointment over India’s failure to reach the final of the T20 World Cup.
Gavaskar expressed his disappointment with Rohit Sharma’s performance as captain, questioning the team’s results since the 36-year-old took over the national team, despite his experience leading in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for many years.
He particularly emphasized the importance of performing well overseas, stating that Rohit has been a little disappointing in that aspect.
Gavaskar also highlighted India’s failure to reach the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat to England in the semi-final.
“I expected more from him (Rohit). In India, it is different, but when you do well overseas, that is really the test. That is where he has been a little disappointing.”
“Even in the T20 format, with all the experience of the IPL, hundreds of matches as captain, with a mix of the best IPL players, not being able to get to the finals has been disappointing,” said Gavaskar in an interview with the Indian Express Idea Exchange.
Gavaskar called upon the BCCI and the Selectors to ask tough questions of Rohit and Rahul Dravid. He pointed out various mistakes made by the team during their defeat in the 2023 WTC final against Australia.
Gavaskar emphasized the need for the team management to be questioned about their decisions, such as choosing to field first in the final despite overcast conditions, and not employing the bouncer against Travis Head until he had already scored 80 runs.
“They should be asking questions, ‘Why did you field first?’ Okay, it was explained at the toss that it was overcast and all.”
“The question after that should be, ‘You didn’t know about Travis Head’s weakness against the short ball?’ Why was the bouncer employed only when he had scored 80 runs.”
“You know, the moment Head came in to bat, in the commentary box, we had Rick Ponting saying, ‘Bounce him, bounce him.’ Everyone knew about it, but we didn’t try,” added Gavaskar.
Furthermore, Gavaskar questioned whether any lessons have been learned from the defeat in the WTC final, referring to Rohit’s comments about the lack of preparation ahead of the tour to the West Indies.
He also criticized the idea of workload management, expressing doubts about the team’s preparation methods.
“What kind of preparation are we talking about? Now they have gone to the West Indies. You have the example of the World Test Championship before you.”
“Are you playing any matches? So what is this talk about 20-25 days?… When you talk about preparation, be genuine about it. Go 15 days before, play two warm-up matches.”
“The main guys can rest, but the fringe players might be actually challenging those who are not doing well. He does not get an opportunity to show that he is good enough,” explained Gavaskar.
Gavaskar concluded by questioning the team’s claims of being the fittest in the world and the issues of workload management.
He criticized the main players for not wanting to go early for tours, knowing they will be selected regardless, and suggested that workload issues should not arise when playing a 20-over game.
“The truth is the main guys do not want to go early. Because they know that come what may, they will get selected. And when you go early, they will talk about the workload.”
“You call yourself the fittest team in the world or fitter than the early generations, then how do you break down so soon? How do you have a workload issue when you play a 20-over game?” concluded the Indian batting legend.
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