Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the Indian cricketers asking for frequent rests in regard to the ICC ODI World Cup, slated to be hosted by India in October-November this year. The cricketer-turned-pundit, in a column for Mid-day, brought out the difference between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the international assignments in terms of relevance to the present-generation players. Putting his thought into the long-standing debate, Gavaskar termed “workload” a new kind of excuse that the players are using to avoid major fixtures while featuring in the entire season of the IPL.
The India great made a stern remark, saying, “The new word is workload and for a generation that has beach bodies and a pampered mindset it’s the perfect excuse not to play for their country.”
Gavaskar further dug out an old story, recalling that a group referred to “burnout” of players ahead of the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008.
“As soon as the players realised what the IPL was offering in terms of remuneration for maybe a dozen or so T20 games, the message must have gone out to the organisation to just drop the burnout discussion,” the 73-year-old noted.
Moreover, Gavaskar discussed Mumbai Indians’ coach Mark Boucher’s reply to a reporter, who asked about Rohit Sharma’s availability in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore, highlighting the workload management of the India captain. The former India cricketer, taking the South African’s response into his account, stated, “It was refreshing to hear the Mumbai Indians’ coach Mark Boucher saying that a 20-overs-a-side game isn’t a lot of workloads.”
Sunil Gavaskar earlier slammed Rohit Sharma for missing the opening ODI of the three-match series against Australia in a bid to attend his brother-in-law’s wedding. Showing his discontent over the captain’s absence, Gavaskar said, “You can not have a captain who is there for one match and not there for others.” He further shelled out a cold reminder, saying, “You can’t have a family commitment when it comes to the World Cup.”
Not only the former cricketer but also the fans are eagerly waiting for the ODI World Cup 2023 as the Men in Blue haven’t won a single ICC trophy since an MS Dhoni-led unit lifted the Champions Trophy in 2013. They have registered several memorable victories in bilateral series but could not replicate the performance on major occasions.
Team India advanced to the semi-finals of the World Cup 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2022 and finished runner-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy but the title remained a too-far bridge to cross. For their upcoming ICC fixture, India will travel to England to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, beginning on 7 June.
Click here to follow comprehensive coverage of IPL 2023
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.