Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has pinpointed at the exact reason that he thinks was the cause behind India’s disappointing ICC World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand. He also voiced his concerns about the current vacuum of leadership in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and how other boards were exploiting the situation.
Q) Do you think present day cricketers are exploiting the vacuum that exists between the emasculated board and a weak CoA?
Gavaskar: It’s the other cricketing boards which are taking advantage of the current situation in Indian cricket. While the BCCI prior to Mr Dalmiya taking over was chiefly a poodle of England and Australia, after Mr Dalmiya it had a spine and more importantly a voice that was heard loud and clear by all the other Boards. Mr Pawar and Mr Srinivasan strengthened it even more but the current situation has left it at the mercy of the old powers again.
Q) Did arrogance lead to hubris for India at this WC, were we overconfident? Do you see a similarity between this and 1987 when India had a top team and lost to England in the semis?
Gavaskar: In cricket you get a bad day and since we depended heavily on Rohit Sharma and Virat to get the runs we were in trouble when they failed. The batting order thereafter didn’t help either as an experienced batsman like MSD was needed then than a young Pant or Pandya.
Gavaskar:Indian cricket at the start of the century had the greatest batting line-up in the world and Indian cricket history and led by a person also from Mr Dalmiya’s city, Sourav Ganguly, who would not take a backward step even in the face of fiercest opposition. It was a magical time to be an Indian cricket fan. Don’t forget there was Anil Kumble too and the one and only MSD was taking his first steps in international cricket.
Q) When a Marshall express wrenched the bat out of your hands in Kanpur, was that the lowest point in your cricket career?
