You call yourself the fittest team, then how do you break down so soon?: Gavaskar slams Team India

India captain Rohit Sharma had argued after the World Test Championship final loss that a preparation time of 20-25 days would have been ideal for his team. The WTC final was held a week after IPL 2023 got over and saw India lose to Australia by 209 runs.

On that matter, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has now slammed the captain and team for using the excuse of lack of preparation sighting the example of how they prepared for the tour of the West Indies.

Despite a one-month break after the WTC final, Team India reached West Indies on 1 July for the Test series that began on 12 July. India are currently 1-0 up in the two-match Test series.

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Sunil Gavaskar asked why the team did not play any practice matches when they had free time ahead of the Test series and also added that it’s the senior players who avoid travelling to countries in advance as they are guaranteed of their spots.

“What kind of preparation are we talking about? Now they have gone to the West Indies. You have the example of the World Test Championship before you. Are you playing any matches? So, what is this talk about 20-25 days?” Gavaskar said in an interview with The Indian Express.

“The team that the West Indies is today, you can go one day before the Test match and still beat them. But that should not blind us to the fact that when you talk about preparation, be genuine about it. Go 15 days before, play two warm-up matches. The main guys can rest, but the guys in the reserve, the fringe players, might be actually challenging some of the guys who are not doing well. He does not get an opportunity to show that he is good enough,” Gavaskar added.

Gavaskar also lashed out at Team India players for calling themselves the “fittest team in the world” but suffering frequent injuries.

“The truth is the main guys do not want to go early because they know that come what may, they will get selected. When you go early they will talk about the workload. You call yourself the fittest team in the world or fitter than the earlier generations, then how do you break down so soon? How do you have a workload issue when you play a 20-overs game?” he said.