3 biggest statements made by Sunil Gavaskar on India's squad selection for the West Indies tour

Sunil Gavaskar has recently lived up to an image of being brutally honest in his criticism of India's men's cricket team. The 73-year-old former captain is perhaps the only reputed name to consistently question the decisions of the BCCI selectors.

Gavaskar did the same on Friday when India announced the Test and ODI squads for the all-format tour of the West Indies in July and August, which had a few key names missing as well as some surprising additions. Below are his three biggest statements:

India’s Test squad for the West Indies tour: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.

India's ODI squad for the West Indies tour: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar

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"Stop playing Ranji Trophy" - Sunil Gavaskar on Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection

India added Gaikwad, Jaiswal and Kishan as a few young players in the Test squad. All three were expected choices as they had been in and around the team as reserves for the past few months. However, their selection came at the cost of Sarfaraz Khan, who has 3505 first-class runs to his name at an average of 79.65.

Gavaskar feels that the selections have been made on the basis of the trio's IPL performances (Sarfaraz scored just 54 runs in four matches in IPL 2023). He said that Ranji Trophy performances will slowly become redundant at this rate.

“Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons," Gavaskar told India Today. "What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team. Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well.”

Gaikwad, who amassed 590 runs in 16 IPL 2023 matches, has scored 1941 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 42.19.

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"Clearly, only one man has been singled out" - Sunil Gavaskar on Cheteshwar Pujara's non-selection

Did this shot lead to Cheteshwar Pujara's fall from grace?

The biggest absentee from the squad was Cheteshwar Pujara, India's long-time No. 3. Pujara scored 14 (25) and 27 (47) in the World Test Championship Final against Australia, which is considered to be the primary reason for his snub, in addition to his blow-hot blow-cold form over the last two years.

However, Gavaskar scathingly called out the selectors for making Pujara the "scapegoat" in a batting line-up that has failed collectively. He believes Pujara was an easy target because unlike his teammates, he doesn't have a big social media following.

"Clearly, only one man has been singled out while others also failed," Gavaskar said. "To me, the batting failed. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, of course, in both innings, he got 89 and 46, nobody else really got runs.”

“Why is he [Cheteshwar Pujara] dropped then? Why is he being made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a servant of Indian cricket, a loyal servant. Because he doesn’t have millions of followers on whatever platforms who would make a noise in case he gets dropped? I mean, you dropped him? That is beyond understanding. What is the criteria for dropping him and keeping the others who failed?”

Kohli and Rohit, the most popular figures in the side, similarly failed in the WTC Final at the Oval.

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Shubman Gill or Axar Patel could be India's next captain: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar names Shubman Gill as India's potential next captain.

Reacting to the news of Rahane getting his vice-captaincy back, Gavaskar opined it's not a "wrong" decision but a missed opportunity to groom a young leader. He named batter Gill and all-rounder Axar as potential options.

“One is Shubman Gill and the other is Axar Patel [as future captains] because Axar comes in leaps and bounds, he just gets better every match," Gavaskar told India Today. "Giving them the responsibility as vice-captain will make them think. So, these are the two candidates in my view. If there are others, somebody like Ishan Kishan, once he cements his place in the team. He can come in the reckoning as well."

"There is nothing wrong in having him [Ajinkya Rahane] as the vice-captain, but a missed opportunity to groom a young player. At least, tell a young player that we are looking at you as a future captain. So he starts to think as a future leader.”

India will play two Tests in the West Indies, starting on July 12.