“What kind of a message does it send to the home team?” - Legendary batter notes interesting point in India’s BGT 2024-25 build-up

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the side's preparation and build-up for the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test series, in which hosts Australia secured a 3-1 win across five matches. Team India players and support staff arrived on Australian soil in different batches, something Gavaskar was unhappy about.

Yet, the visitors started with a bang, winning the series opener in Perth by 295 runs. However, things went downhill from that point as India lost three out of the next four outings to concede the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The series loss made it six defeats in eight Tests for the Indian side that suffered a 0-3 home series whitewash to New Zealand before the Australian tour.

Writing about the disappointing series defeat to Australia in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar noted:

"The mistakes that were made in Australia should not be repeated. The team should arrive in England in one group and not in four batches as was done in Australia. For the first two days in Australia, the team was without captain, vice-captain and coach. What kind of a message does it send to the home team?"

He added:

"That here’s a team that has arrived with no leadership group and can be easily broken with a few tough performances. Surely the BCCI will not allow this to happen again. Yes, the odd player who is recovering from injury can join the team later, but the leaders must be the first to arrive to make a statement that the team is ready for battle."

India's recent Test woes meant they were eliminated from the World Test Championship (WTC) final race for the first time in the tournament's history. They lost in the finals to New Zealand and Australia in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

"White-ball performances should not blind us to the deficiencies in Test cricket" - Sunil Gavaskar

India's performances have trended south in Test cricket [Credit: Getty]

Sunil Gavaskar cautioned India from failing to address their Test frailties in the wake of the upcoming white-ball games and the IPL.

The Asian giants will have a white-ball home series against England, followed by the Champions Trophy over the next two months. The IPL will follow soon after, resulting in the Indian players staying away from the red-ball format until May.

"The next few months are all going to be about limited-overs cricket and the IPL. White-ball performances should not blind us to the deficiencies in Test cricket. These need to be addressed too, as the new cycle for the World Test Championship final begins with the five-Test match series against England from mid-June," Gavaskar wrote in the same column.

India's next Test assignment will be the five-match series in England, starting in the second half of June.