Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar urged the BCCI to end the ‘star culture’ in the Indian team following their 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. The series loss also saw the Men in Blue’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final get completely crushed.
Gavaskar believes that the Indian players should make themselves available at all costs unless there is a medical emergency and also advised the selectors to only pick the players who are fully committed to the side.
“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,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Gavaskar also said that it is high time that BCCI put their foot down in certain matters and stop pampering the Indian cricketers.
“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,” Gavaskar added.
