Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar is certainly on cloud nine after India’s emphatic 4-1 series win over England at home. The five-match Test series saw Rohit Sharma-led India concede a 1-0 lead before turning it around in style, winning 4-1.
What makes the victory more sweeter is that India were without many key players but the young guns, such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal, stood tall in various junctures to take India to a memorable series triumph at home.
Thus, Gavaskar lauded the Indian squad and even slammed England for their attitude, believing them to be above all.
‘England arrived in India with the usual ‘we are doing you a favour’ attitude’
In his coloumn for The Sportstar, the former captain Gavaskar wrote, “What a walloping, what great fun to watch a young India team demolish an England team that had arrived in India with the usual ‘we are doing you a favour’ attitude that brings a smirk on the faces of those Indian officials who go to receive them at various airports.”
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Gavaskar went onto claim that some of the England players simply cannot digest the fact that their Indian counterparts earn a whopping amount in the IPL; resulting in more on-field sledging and banter. He stated that the Australian cricketers have been ‘invariably better’ (as they also earn more than the English players) and do not carry the same attitude unlike their arch-rivals.
In this regard, he opined, “The Aussies have been invariably better, looking to adapt themselves to the culture and not look down their noses at us natives. It also helps that the Aussies recognise a golden goose when they see one, and the IPL is certainly a humongous golden goose. Not only do Aussie players, some so memorably described by Kevin Pietersen as second or third-grade cricketers, go for astronomical amounts, but there are also Aussie coaches, physios, trainers, and anybody who is their golf and beer buddy in the IPL coaching staff, making more money than they do at home.”
Gavaskar further claimed, “That is also the reason why the England and Indian players get into verbal skirmishes so often when they are playing against each other. Not a lot of England players are picked in the IPL, mainly because they can be withdrawn by their Board anytime for a preparation camp or something, which leaves the franchises in a lurch.”
“Some of them can’t stomach the fees for which some of the Indian players are bought and compare their achievements at the international level when the IPL auction dynamics can be so volatile and hard to explain or even understand. So you see more lip in the India-England encounters than in any other India match. That’s why the pleasure of beating England is always greater,” he added.
At present, the likes of Jason Roy and Harry Brook have withdrawn from the upcoming IPL 2024 edition citing personal reasons. Over the years, many England cricketers have pulled out at the last minute, leaving their respective franchises in a spot of bother.