Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar agreed with Rohit Sharma’s statement in which he said that players who are hungry to play red-ball cricket will be given the opportunity and players who are not hungry will be sidelined. Gavaskar, while reacting to Rohit’s comments, backed the Indian captain. He echoed his comments and issued a strong warning to the players.
In recent days, the BCCI had made it mandatory for players who had been off the field without any reason to play Test cricket. However, players like Ishan Kishan withdrew from selection for the IND vs ENG Test series and are currently preparing for IPL 2024. He did not join his Jharkhand national team for the second round of the Ranji Trophy.
The same thing happened with Shreyas Iyer. Iyer was supposed to join the Mumbai team after his exclusion from the Indian Test team due to his poor form. However, Iyer did not return to domestic cricket citing back pain as the reason, although the NCA granted Iyer medical clearance to play domestic cricket.
Speaking to SportsTak, Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that only players who have the will to play Test cricket will be considered. Gavaskar stated that Indian players are only thanks to Indian cricket where they are today, so a certain loyalty is expected from the players in return.
Sunil Gavaskar supports Rohit Sharma
Sunil Gavaskar said: “Players who wish to play Test cricket for India should be the only ones considered. It is only because of Indian cricket that the players are where they are today, and whatever wealth they possess is a contribution of our country’s cricket. Therefore, some loyalty towards Indian cricket is expected from the players.”
Sunil Gavaskar further added that Rohit Sharma is absolutely right in his statement and stated that only those players who are hungry to play Test cricket should be given preference. He said: “Now, if players start dictating terms like ‘I don’t want to play this or that’, Rohit Sharma is right in saying that preference should be given only to those who are hungry. In my opinion, this is something that the selection committee should also take into account. However, there should not be a choice based on the whims of the players.”
India recorded a five-wicket win in the fourth Test against England and were able to take an unassailable lead in the five-match series by 3-1. Dhruv Jurel and Shubman Gill remained calm and composed and ensured that India crossed the line and made 192 runs.
This was the first time after 2013 that India chased more than 150 runs in India, while this was India’s 17th consecutive Test series win at home. India has not lost a home Test series since 2013.
India would now hope to win the fifth Test match to be played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The Indian team will want to win the five-match series 4-1.