The Border-Gavaskar Trophy has come to a conclusion. I was a bit off with my prediction as Australia emerged as the winners, with a margin of 3-1 (I had Australia winning 2-1). By the margin of the loss, India media and former players have called for a change in the team.
There has been calls for the cancellation of star culture - where only senior players are the ones who are selected. The power of seniority is now obsolete. In the aftermath of Australia’s six-wicket win at the SCG to clinch a 3-1 series victory on Sunday, Indian legend, Sunil Gavaskar, expressed his strong belief, in a report by the Hindustan Times, that the BCCI must reassess the way it manages the Indian players.
Gavaskar, who scored more than 10 000 Test runs, is adamant that not all members of the Indian squad for the tour of Australia are fully committed to the team and that the BCCI are not being strong enough on them.
He said, "I think the next 8–10 days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself. Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection."
Gavaskar’s comments point the finger squarely at veteran batters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whose international futures remain clouded. Sharma, who was allegedly rested for the Sydney Test but in reality, was dropped after scoring 31 runs at an average of 6.20; missed the first Test of the series in Perth due to the birth of his second child.
Kohli missed the entirety of India’s five-Test home series against England last year for the same reason and four summers ago, he went home from Australia after the 1st Test of the series for the birth of his first child.
The man who shares naming honours of the trophy Australia and India vie for with Allan Border, argues that national duty should trump family commitments.
"We don’t need players who are partly here and partly elsewhere. It’s time to stop pampering anyone," Gavaskar added. "The recent results have been disappointing — we should have been in the World Test Championship final but didn’t make it."
"The cricket board needs to stop acting like admirers and put their foot down. They must tell the players that Indian cricket comes first. It’s either a full commitment to Indian cricket or other priorities — you can’t have it both ways. If Indian cricket is your priority, only then should you be selected."
Former Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, shares Gavaskar’s concerns about the team culture. Pathan, who opened the batting and the bowling in a Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2008, also questioned Kohli’s place in the side and highlighted the 36-year-old’s reluctance to feature in Indian domestic cricket, in a report in The Deccan Herald.
"We need to end superstar culture, we need team culture. You need to improve yourself and improve the Indian team. There were matches before this series, too, and they had an opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they didn’t. We need to change that culture," Pathan said.
When was the last time Virat Kohli played domestic cricket? It has been more than a decade.
"For the Indian team in 2024, in the first innings where you basically set up the match, Virat Kohli’s average is 15. And if you consider his average over the last five years, it’s not even 30. Does the Indian team deserve its senior player? Instead, give a youngster a chance. Tell him to get ready. He will also give an average of 25–30. This is about the team, not the individuals."
"When we talk about Virat Kohli, he has done a lot for India. He has delivered many performances. But you are getting out from the same mistake again and again."
"You are not creating a gap between two mistakes. You are not trying to fix the technical mistake."
Despite scoring an unbeaten century in the second innings in Perth, Kohli only mustered 190 runs for the series. The right-hander was caught behind the wicket in all eight of his dismissals, four of which came off the bowling of Scott Boland, as he repeatedly poked at balls around a fifth or sixth stump line.
With Sharma dropped and player-of-the-series Jasprit Bumrah off the field injured during Australia’s run chase, Kohli tried his best to marshal the troops and The Indian Express’ Sriram Veera wrote that it arguably was the former captain’s best moment of the series.
"Unfortunately, the key men of Indian team’s best performances seem to have come in front of the microphone, it has to be said. Or in a team huddle," Veera wrote.
"Virat Kohli, the acting captain over the weekend in the absence of the injured Bumrah, tried his best to inspire his bowling and fielding unit, but failed at his job as a batsman, through the series, barring that ton in second-innings at Perth. Anything outside off, be it from back of length or full and wide, proved a kryptonite."
"We don’t know what he has told the players inside the dressing room, but one of the best lines from the head coach Gautam Gambhir came in the post-series press conference. Ultimately, it’s neither my team nor your team, it’s the nation’s team. I believe that, as I said, there are very honest players in our dressing room who know how hungry they are and whether the team can move forward with their contribution. But yes, as far as my question is concerned, my biggest responsibility is that I have to be fair to everyone in the team. Not only one or two individuals."
"If he can walk that talk, and there is nothing to doubt that he won’t, as yet, he has a couple of tough decisions to make involving Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma."
Those decisions may not come for some time as India’s next red-ball assignment doesn't arrive until 20 June, when their five-Test series in England begins at Headingley."
Former India cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, has come down heavily on senior players, saying that selection in the Indian team should be based on performance instead of reputation after series loss against Australia. Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2015.
Commenting on their poor form, Harbhajan suggested getting rid of the superstar culture in the Indian team and asked the duo to play county cricket before the England Test series in June.
"The selection should be based on the performance, whether Virat or Rohit. No player is bigger than the game, even if they think they are superstars in their minds. If you want to take senior players on tour, you have to make sure they play county cricket before the England series," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Further speaking ahead, the former spinner also questioned what went wrong with the Indian team suddenly, as everything was fine until Rahul Dravid was there.
"In the past six months, we lost to Sri Lanka, a series whitewash against New Zealand and now a 3-1 defeat in Australia. Everything was fine till Rahul Dravid was there. India won the World Cup, and everything was fine. But what happened suddenly?" he added.
I tend to agree, It's time to move on. You can't rely on the same players to perform well everytime they get on the field. There comes a time when new players have to be introduced and slowly be integrated into the team. This will soon lead to the player/s to replace the star player/s.