Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar urged the BCCI to not give India caps to players just like that and also asked the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to trim the size of the contingent during overseas tours in future. In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar opined that taking a bigger squad, only showed the selector’s unsurety in India’s plan for Australia. India’s next overseas tour is to England in June.
The BCCI had announced a 18-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 plus three reserves. Devdutt Padikkal, who initially went to Australia as a part of India A side, was later drafted into the main squad ahead of the first Test in Perth.
“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,” Gavaskar wrote.
“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.”
Having said that, Gavaskar recommended to take practice bowlers which are very hard to get overseas according to requirements.”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,” added Gavaskar, who himself was on commentating duties during BGT.
Gavaskar wants more practice games
The 75-year-old also pointed out that the BCCI should emphasize on having practice matches during overseas tours. In Australia, India didn’t have any as they wanted to spend more time at nets than in the middle. Instead, India opted for an intra-squad game and a tour match ahead of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
“There will be some gaps between the Test matches, and these need to be utilised for practice games. Travel in England is by road almost every time, and the India team will drive down to the next Test venue on the last evening of the previous Test match.
“Since there won’t be a travel day involved, giving the next day off after the Test is understandable, but the next couple should be used for practice,” he explained. The batting great also suggested eliminating optional practice sessions, advocating for the coach and captain to determine the team’s schedule.
He suggessted the tradition of optional training session should go away. “This recent tradition of optional practice should be done away with, and only the coach and captain should decide who gets days off from practice, and this should not be left to the individual player to decide,” he further wrote.
