November 19, 2025 : The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday delivered a sharp wake-up call to the BCCI‘s selection committee and the team management, comprising head coach Gautam Gambhir, after the defeat to South Africa in the series opener last week in Kolkata, urging them to show trust in domestic heavy scorers and warning against picking limited-overs-style, part-time all-rounders in Test cricket. Although he did not name anyone directly, Gavaskar emphasised that Test cricket requires specialists and patience, rather than ego-driven batting or short-term selections. He cautioned that unless India corrects course now, they risk missing the World Test Championship final again.
In his Sportstar column, Gavaskar suggested that India’s Eden Gardens loss should serve as an eye-opener for the team’s management, after batters again struggled against spin in home conditions. The former India captain said the 30-run defeat in just three days reflected the management’s reluctance to trust domestic heavy scorers and the tendency of international players to spend little time on domestic pitches.
“The defeat to South Africa will hopefully open the eyes of those who matter to look at the heavy scorers in domestic cricket, who are used to playing on pitches where the ball spins and keeps low. The international players are so busy playing overseas that they do not have practice playing on domestic pitches, and so are found wanting,” he wrote.
“Test batting demands patience and, more importantly, the willingness to leave your ego in the changing room. It does not matter if you get beaten and rapped on the leg guards. You do not have to try and tonk the ball out of the ground to show who is the boss. The only boss is the one who stays humble and accepts that at this level, the bowler will beat you, and so waits a bit till the scoreable ball comes along.”
Gavaskar also took a subtle dig at Gambhir and Agarkar’s continued backing of Nitish Kumar Reddy as a Test all-rounder. While the veteran batter did not take his name, he explained that a true all-rounder in Test cricket has the ability to fit into the playing XI both as a batter and a bowler.
“India also needs to understand the difference between a Test all-rounder and a limited-overs all-rounder. A genuine Test all-rounder is someone who could make the eleven solely as a batter or as a bowler. A player who only offers a few overs or a few runs is not what Test cricket demands. A proper batter who can chip in with the ball is fine, just as a regular bowler who can hold up an end with the bat is valuable. But selecting a player who would not make the side purely as a batter or as a bowler might work in the short term, yet it does not add real value,” Gavaskar wrote.
Earlier in the home Test series against West Indies last month, the team management had come under heavy criticism after Reddy barely contributed with the ball in both matches. He rolled his arms for only four overs in the first innings in the Ahmedabad opener, and was not called to bowl in the final Test in Delhi.
With India not playing another home Test in over a year, Gavaskar urged the management to understand the demands of Test cricket versus limited-overs formats, warning that failure to do so could see them miss the World Test Championship final again, just as they did in June.
“After this South Africa series, India will not play a home Test for over a year. All the more reason that there is clarity about the difference between Tests and limited-overs games, and about the requirements for the different formats. If not, India could miss the World Test Championship final again, just as they did this June.”
“After this South Africa series, India will not play a home Test for over a year. All the more reason that there is clarity about the difference between Tests and limited-overs games, and about the requirements for the different formats. If not, India could miss the World Test Championship final again, just as they did this June.”
Summary:
Sunil Gavaskar cautioned Gautam Gambhir after the Eden defeat, urging him to stop selecting part-time all-rounders, warning that such decisions could cost India another WTC Final opportunity.