Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar delivered a sharp critique of England’s batting during the ongoing 2025–26 Ashes in Australia. England’s campaign has been derailed by repeated batting failures, leading to crushing defeats in the opening three Tests and the loss of the Ashes urn.
Gavaskar also referenced an incident from last year’s Manchester Test, where England players took issue with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar continuing to bat in pursuit of their individual hundreds.
Even after England skipper Ben Stokes agreed to a draw on the final day, both all-rounders, then in their 80s, chose to carry on batting to reach their milestones. Discussing about England’s struggles with the bat in his Mid-Day column, Gavaskar remarked:
“All those English players who mocked Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar when they opted to bat on and get to their centuries and not accept the offer to go off the field will have realised that Test match centuries don’t come every day. Those who derided and mocked them then for batting on are finding in Australia that their bats have only edges or holes in the middle.”
He further added:
“Both the Indian batters had battled their way to their individual 80s and frustrated the bowlers and with another Test to go, were doing the tactical thing in keeping the fielders in the sun for some more time and were perfectly entitled to do so.Cricket is a great leveller and anybody who shows arrogance as different from confidence gets to learn that very quickly.”
Gavaskar Urges ‘Generational Talent’ To Deliver In The Present
Sunil Gavaskar continued his criticism of England’s batting, appearing to take a swipe at Harry Brook, who is widely labelled a “generational talent.” The right-hander came into the 2025–26 Ashes with high expectations but managed just 232 runs across the first four Tests, with only one half-century to his name.
“England have a chance of ending the tour on a high and beginning the new year with a win and keep their chances of qualifying for the WTC final next year. For that to happen, it is important that the ‘generational talent’ in their team come of age and live up to the expectations.”
“However, as we have seen so far, success has been elusive, and hopefully the ‘generational talent’ will deliver in this generation and not the next,” wrote Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).
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