Gavaskar Slams Team India After Kolkata Loss, Blames Poor Domestic Cricket Participation

Former Indian cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar slammed the Indian batting performance following the 30-run defeat against South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday and disclosed the real reason behind the defeat. Team India failed to chase down the small target of 124 runs, which allowed the visiting South Africa team to go 1-0 up in the two-Test Freedom Trophy series. Skipper Shubman Gill had to leave the field owing to his injury, forcing the team to play with 10 batsmen. However, the reason behind the defeat wasn't Gill's injury or the Kolkata pitch. Gavaskar sent a serious signal to Gautam Gambhir as the lack of participation in domestic cricket turned out to be India's batting collapse.

Gavaskar, speaking to Sportstak, said that many of our players don't play domestic cricket. If you play domestic cricket, you'll get a chance to play on such pitches. Because even at the domestic level, teams try to gain points to qualify for the Ranji Trophy knockouts, which means there will be pitches where the ball will grip and turn a little. But none of our players are playing like that, not even our current players. How many of our current players would actually want to play in the Ranji Trophy?

He expressed concern about players avoiding domestic cricket, citing workload management. He said, "No, they don't do it because there's a term called workload. They don't want to play. They only want to play in the Ranji Trophy when they're out of form. Otherwise, they don't want to play, so that's the answer."

Perhaps you might want to consider preparing a pitch where the ball can grip and turn a little. Then you'll want to select players who are playing domestic cricket. We really shouldn't play players who are playing international cricket, as they don't have practice against such pitches.

The second Test of the series will now be crucial for India, as the team will look to level the series after its disappointing performance in Kolkata. The team's batting order's collapse while chasing a modest target has raised concerns about their ability to handle challenging pitches.

Gavaskar's reaction highlights the growing disconnect between domestic and international cricket in India, where established players often don't play in Ranji Trophy matches. Additionally, workload management has become a contentious issue, as senior players often don't play domestic cricket.