Indian cricket has lost clout in international cricket fora, says Sunil Gavaskar

Things got real for Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul after they were recalled from the Indian squad who were gearing up to face Australia in the three-match ODI series down under. The duo were in the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons after the comments they passed on popular talk show Koffee with Karan, hosted by Bollywood producer Karan Johar. 

Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for Mid-day, mentioned how the pair’s actions on national television have brought shame and embarrassment to the Indian cricket on the international level in the last few days.

"The suspension of two players and the drama that it has caused has taken the sheen off the huge achievement of the team winning a Test series in Australia for the first time ever. Instead of the team basking in the glory of their superb efforts they have been pushed into the background, as the antics of two of their members have taken the centre stage. Instead of lauding the deeds of Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah the talk has been about two players, one of whom was just a replacement while the other had a bit role to play in the win.

"The next few days will surely be interesting indeed and it won’t be a surprise if the action on the field is overshadowed by that off the field. Hopefully, it will be sorted and dealt with sooner rather than later.  This week also hopefully the Honourable Supreme Court will give a final decision on a matter that has stretched almost two and half years. Indian cricket has lost clout at the international fora and the sooner the matter is settled the better for Indian cricket," Gavaskar wrote for TOI.

The 69-year old cricketer-turned-commentator also went on to congratulate the Indian cricket team for pulling off a historic series win on the Australian soil for the first time in 70 years. Virat Kohli-led India registered a convincing 2-1 win to defeat the Aussies down under.

"Be that as it may, this column cannot end without heartiest congratulations to the Indian team for doing what no other Indian team has not done for more than 70 years. It has made every Indian cricket lover proud of this team.  As a former cricketer I have always wanted the next generation to do what I could not. So just like it gave me a great thrill watching Virender Sehwag smash the red new ball in Test cricket to all corners of the ground as also Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly in limited overs where they opened the batting so also watching Kohli ki toli win in Australia is most joyful indeed. 

"The year has begun very well indeed for Indian cricket and let’s all pray that the good news keeps coming throughout the year," Gavaskar concluded.