Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, had earlier stated that Joe Root will surpass the Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most Test runs in a short span of time.
Root smashed his 34th Test hundred, recently, against Sri Lanka. Vaughan said that it would be good for Test cricket if Root break’s Sachin Tendulkar’s record of Test runs.
Gavaskar, meanwhile, has slammed Vaughan for his statement regarding Root and Tendulkar. Gavaskar asked if Test cricket is not doing well presently, given that Tendulkar is still at the top of the list.
“Recently, I heard someone saying it would be good for Test cricket if Joe Root overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs and centuries in Test match cricket. Please tell us what’s wrong with Test cricket presently when Tendulkar is owning the record and how, will Test cricket be better if (and that’s a huge if) an Englishman goes on to hold it. In what way will it be better? Kindly enlighten us,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar on Thursday.”
Michael Vaughan also opined that BCCI would do everything in their capacity to bring an Indian player back at the top of the tally if Joe Root breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Gavaskar, meanwhile, talked about the crowd support for the Indian team across the globe as compared to other cricketing nations.
“I can say with experience of more than 50 years that it’s not just the Indian crowds who are silent when their team is not doing well but crowds in every country. If there is some noise when, say, India is doing well overseas, it’s because of the number of Indian supporters who travel long distances from India and who cheer for them and not the locals,” Gavaskar added.
“This business of India bashing has to be countered with aggression”- Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar also said that when a commentator questions the Indian fans’ silence when the home team is not in a good state in the match, the Indian fans should retaliate by asking them why their fans have not travelled to India to support the team and make noise.
Sunil Gavaskar comes hard at Michael Vaughan for his recent controversial statement (Image Credits X)
He said: “So next time, when some commentator or media person from overseas tries to talk about the silence of the Indian crowd when India is not doing well, we should ask them why their supporters haven’t come to cheer for their team. This business of India bashing has to be countered with aggression because that’s the only language they understand.“
England are currently playing a T20I series against Australia. They are trailing 1-0 in the series, having lost the first game by 28 runs in Southampton. The second T20I is scheduled to take place on Friday in Cardiff.
On the other hand, the Indian team are all set to play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting 19th September 2024.
