Gavaskar Criticizes BCCI for Handling of Rohit Sharma's Australia Incident, Advises Ajit Agarkar on India Cap Protocol

India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was vocal about his disapproval of the team traveling without Indian captain Rohit Sharma for the Border-Gavaskar Test series opener last October. Reports had confirmed that the 37-year-old would miss the Perth match due to the birth of his second child. Despite facing criticism for his comments, Gavaskar stood by his statement even after the conclusion of the Australia tour. In a recent column for Sportstar, Gavaskar criticized the BCCI for allowing Rohit Sharma to miss the crucial match.

Rohit had missed the series opener, where Jasprit Bumrah led the Indian team to their only win in an otherwise forgettable tour. The 37-year-old rejoined the side ahead of the second Test in Adelaide, but what followed was another poor run of form as he managed just 31 runs in five innings at 6.2.

Taking to his column, Gavaskar reckoned the arrival of the Indian team in Perth without their captain sent a signal of weakness to Australia as he urged BCCI to always send the team in whole for overseas assignments.

"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," he wrote.

'India cap should be given just like that'

The former India captain also told the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to trim the size of the Test squad for the upcoming series in England in June, which will mark the beginning of a fresh cycle of the World Test Championship. Gavaskar reckoned a larger contingent only showed that the selectors were unsure of their plan for Australia and wanted them to mindful in handing over the prestigious India cap.

"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," he added.

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