‘Indian cricketers are neither machines nor sugarcane’: Sunil Gavaskar wants ICC to fix India’s ‘unending’ season

[rollingstoned]

‘Indian cricketers are neither machines nor sugarcane’: Sunil Gavaskar wants ICC to fix India’s ‘unending’ season

 

The sun may have set on the British Empire, but former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reckons there is no such ending in sight for Indian cricket’s season.

 

 

In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar called for a reconsideration of the packed calendar for Indian cricketers, warning against pushing players from one series and tournament to another without adequate breaks. The remarks came a week after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia attributed the recent spate of injuries plaguing Indian cricket to the high volume of matches the team is playing, with the board eager to find a solution.

With the ICC set to discuss the next four-year cycle beginning in 2027, Gavaskar hopes the decision will be taken having in mind the strain on players.

“The recent meeting to take stock of Indian cricket did try to come to grips with the issue. Hopefully, when the ICC meeting to discuss the international cricket calendar over the next cycle of four years from 2027 takes place, the decision-makers will realise that Indian cricketers are neither machines nor sugarcane to be endlessly squeezed for every drop of the juice,” Gavaskar wrote in his column.

 

‘Need to prioritise domestic cricket’

Beyond workload concerns, the former India batter reckoned Indian cricket has, at the moment, become too focused on the national team, reminding that the India side is merely a by-product of Indian cricket and does not represent the entirety of the ecosystem.

 “The India cricket team is not Indian cricket,” he wrote. “The India cricket team is the by-product of Indian cricket.”

 

Gavaskar argued that while India can field multiple teams, the on-paper depth does not necessarily indicate a pipeline capable of consistently producing world-class cricketers. India have been widely praised in recent years for their bench strength, but Gavaskar stressed that a strong national team can only be sustained by a robust domestic structure.

 

“The argument that India’s bench strength is such that it can field three teams is good to make claims for the world, but the reality, as recent results have shown, is that one India team is at the moment not good enough to win much silverware. Yes, a gold in the Asian Games will once again rejuvenate the team and give it the confidence for oncoming battles, but unless domestic cricket is prioritised, the pipeline will not produce world beaters. All the best to both our boys and girls to win the gold,” Gavaskar wrote.

 

 

[rollingstoned]

"How Can A Tournament Be Interrupted?" Sunil Gavaskar Targets BCCI, Then An 'Old' Comparison

 

Sunil Gavaskar also said that the current BCCI ecosystem is slightly skewed due to the presence of "non-experts"

 

 

 

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for pushing the Ranji Trophy schedule "here and there". Gavaskar criticised the new Ranji Trophy schedule, squeezed between two domestic white-ball tournaments, and accused the BCCI of no longer treating its premier red-ball tournament as the crown jewel. As per the current BCCI schedule, the Ranji Trophy will be played in two phases on either side of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

 

"How can a tournament be interrupted to accommodate a white-ball tournament?" Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. 

 

Gavaskar suggested that the SMAT, played under the T20 format, could be played at the start of the domestic season in September, but insisted that the BCCI prefers it to be held as close as possible to the IPL.

 

"...The rhythm and momentum get destroyed. Why is the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy not played till the quarterfinal, then a break for a few weeks, and then the semifinals and final, as it happens with the Ranji Trophy? It won't be done because the auction for the IPL happens pretty soon after the tournament," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

 

"They won't forget the performers even if the auction happens a couple of months later," he added.

Gavaskar also said that the current BCCI ecosystem is slightly skewed due to the presence of "non-experts", which has led to this mess in scheduling.

 

"In the old BCCI, there used to be a Technical Committee and a Fixtures Committee too. Experienced former players, umpires and administrators served on these committees, ensuring that cricket went smoothly. Something similar needs to be done, drawing on such experience and expertise. The Indian cricket ecosystem is slightly skewed at the moment, and this would help rebalance it," said Gavaskar

[Vk1]

Is he not getting the payments/contracts from bcci?

Edited Saturday at 08:10 AM by Vk1

[putrevus]

He is not wrong, this unending calendar is going to ruin Indian cricket. Fast bowlers especially need some rest to recover from niggles.

 

 

[wanted_desi]

Here is the List from gemini. Burmah is the only and he shouldn't be playing all formats. Siraj should be dropped altogether. 

 

1. All-Format Players (Played Tests, ODIs, & T20Is)

These players featured across all three formats for India within the last 12 months:

• Shubman Gill

  • Tests: 10 matches

  • ODIs: 11 matches

  • T20Is: 8 matches

• Jasprit Bumrah

  • Tests: 8 matches

  • ODIs: 6 matches

  • T20Is: 7 matches

• Rishabh Pant

  • Tests: 9 matches

  • ODIs: 4 matches

  • T20Is: 6 matches

• Washington Sundar

  • Tests: 5 matches

  • ODIs: 8 matches

  • T20Is: 12 matches

• Axar Patel

  • Tests: 3 matches

  • ODIs: 9 matches

  • T20Is: 15 matches

• Mohammed Siraj

  • Tests: 9 matches

  • ODIs: 7 matches

  • T20Is: 4 matches

• Yashasvi Jaiswal

  • Tests: 10 matches

  • ODIs: 3 matches

  • T20Is: 9 matches

• KL Rahul

  • Tests: 7 matches

  • ODIs: 8 matches

  • T20Is: 2 matches

2. Two-Format Players

Tests & ODIs

• Ravindra Jadeja: 8 Tests, 6 ODIs (Retired from T20Is)

ODIs & T20Is

• Hardik Pandya: 12 ODIs, 16 T20Is

• Kuldeep Yadav: 7 ODIs, 11 T20Is

• Shivam Dube: 6 ODIs, 14 T20Is

• Sanju Samson: 5 ODIs, 15 T20Is

• Arshdeep Singh: 8 ODIs, 18 T20Is

• Shreyas Iyer: 10 ODIs, 3 T20Is

3. Single-Format Players

ODIs Only

• Rohit Sharma: 11 matches (Retired from T20Is & Tests)

• Virat Kohli: 11 matches (Retired from T20Is & Tests)

T20Is Only

• Suryakumar Yadav: 19 matches

• Tilak Varma: 14 matches

• Rinku Singh: 15 matches

• Abhishek Sharma: 16 matches

• Varun Chakaravarthy: 10 matches

• Ravi Bishnoi: 9 matches

• Ishan Kishan: 6 matches

Tests Only

• Dhruv Jurel: 4 matches

• Akash Deep: 5 matches

• Sarfaraz Khan: 3 matches

 

[Manucrick]

13 minutes ago, wanted_desi said:

Here is the List from gemini. Burmah is the only and he shouldn't be playing all formats. Siraj should be dropped altogether. 

 

1. All-Format Players (Played Tests, ODIs, & T20Is)

These players featured across all three formats for India within the last 12 months:

• Shubman Gill

  • Tests: 10 matches

  • ODIs: 11 matches

  • T20Is: 8 matches

• Jasprit Bumrah

  • Tests: 8 matches

  • ODIs: 6 matches

  • T20Is: 7 matches

• Rishabh Pant

  • Tests: 9 matches

  • ODIs: 4 matches

  • T20Is: 6 matches

• Washington Sundar

  • Tests: 5 matches

  • ODIs: 8 matches

  • T20Is: 12 matches

• Axar Patel

  • Tests: 3 matches

  • ODIs: 9 matches

  • T20Is: 15 matches

• Mohammed Siraj

  • Tests: 9 matches

  • ODIs: 7 matches

  • T20Is: 4 matches

• Yashasvi Jaiswal

  • Tests: 10 matches

  • ODIs: 3 matches

  • T20Is: 9 matches

• KL Rahul

  • Tests: 7 matches

  • ODIs: 8 matches

  • T20Is: 2 matches

2. Two-Format Players

Tests & ODIs

• Ravindra Jadeja: 8 Tests, 6 ODIs (Retired from T20Is)

ODIs & T20Is

• Hardik Pandya: 12 ODIs, 16 T20Is

• Kuldeep Yadav: 7 ODIs, 11 T20Is

• Shivam Dube: 6 ODIs, 14 T20Is

• Sanju Samson: 5 ODIs, 15 T20Is

• Arshdeep Singh: 8 ODIs, 18 T20Is

• Shreyas Iyer: 10 ODIs, 3 T20Is

3. Single-Format Players

ODIs Only

• Rohit Sharma: 11 matches (Retired from T20Is & Tests)

• Virat Kohli: 11 matches (Retired from T20Is & Tests)

T20Is Only

• Suryakumar Yadav: 19 matches

• Tilak Varma: 14 matches

• Rinku Singh: 15 matches

• Abhishek Sharma: 16 matches

• Varun Chakaravarthy: 10 matches

• Ravi Bishnoi: 9 matches

• Ishan Kishan: 6 matches

Tests Only

• Dhruv Jurel: 4 matches

• Akash Deep: 5 matches

• Sarfaraz Khan: 3 matches

 

I think there is a mistake 

[Texan]

Only Bumrah plays all formats and he gets plenty of rest in between. Others are either 2 format or 1 format players. The problem isn't really the packed calendar, but that players don't play domestic cricket even when they don't have any international committments. They find domestic cricket as optional. BCCI needs to take a strict stand against this. 

[Lord]

sugarcane?

[LordPrabhzy]

12 hours ago, Texan said:

Only Bumrah plays all formats and he gets plenty of rest in between. Others are either 2 format or 1 format players. The problem isn't really the packed calendar, but that players don't play domestic cricket even when they don't have any international committments. They find domestic cricket as optional. BCCI needs to take a strict stand against this. 

 

That may be but these pointless bilterall ODIs  T20s should be scrapped. The saved time should mean players should be playing these format domestically in tournaments. Expand IPL and VHT to ensure indian contracted players are playing and then Tests only. They find it optional because they can point to excessive international calender and see we need a break- once these biltyeralls are scrapped then they wont have any excuses to skip

[lemsip]

13 hours ago, Texan said:

Only Bumrah plays all formats and he gets plenty of rest in between.

He is getting the wrong type of rest. He is consistently playing in meaningless white ball games vs Oman, Ireland and Afghanistan yet has played no red ball cricket in any shape or form since November 2025. It's almost as if there is a conscious effort to decrease his effectiveness in anything apart from the hit and giggle circus of IPL+ T20 jamboree.