Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's 3-1 defeat in BGT 2024-25 ft. Sunil Gavaskar

Australia earned the chance to defend their World Test Championship (WTC) crown after a six-wicket win over India in Sydney on Sunday (January 5). Despite losing the opening Test of the five-match series, the Pat Cummins-led side managed to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) after 10 years.

Although the hosts were in a spot of bother at 58/3 in a chase of 162, the absence of India's strike bowler and captain Jasprit Bumrah helped them calm their nerves. In the end, Australia chased down the score in just 27 overs, with Beau Webster (39*) and Travis Head (34*) remaining unbeaten.

The loss in Sydney also sealed India's fate as they were knocked out of the race to the WTC final. On that note, let's take a look at the top reactions of experts on India's 3-1 series defeat to Australia in BGT 2024-25.

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#1 Dinesh Karthik

In an interaction with Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik delved deep into each player's performances and their future in the Test XI. The key talking point during their discussion was pacer Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance.

Karthik opined that India felt Bumrah's absence as the other bowlers couldn't put the opposition under pressure for long. However, he thinks it was the right decision, keeping in mind crucial tournaments in the coming months. He said:

"Looking at how things have unfolded in the last one and a half months, the difference between India staying in the BGT and getting whitewashed was just Jasprit Bumrah. You could see the gaping hole when he isn't around.

"It's been quite a sight to watch how he's gone about in the last two BGT series. It required somebody of Bumrah's caliber to make Team India believe that they could come back in the first test. But, not just believe he made it happen and he helped India win that Test.

"You could see every spell that he comes the amount of pressure that he creates and today was a great example of when a bowler of that caliber isn't around, how the other batters feel so much more comfortable."

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#2 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at the Indian coaching staff for the team's under-par batting against New Zealand and Australia. He questioned whether the current staff should be continued for the England tour, given there is no improvement in the performance of the batters.

Appearing on Star Sports during the post-match analysis, Gavaskar said:

“What is your coaching staff doing? Like the way we were bowled out for 46 and the kind of performances Indian batters have shown (against New Zealand and Australia), the question should arise: what did you do? Where is the improvement?

"In this programme, you might ask if these players should continue in the future. I am asking, shall we continue with this coaching staff? We have two to three months time before the England tour. How will you improve in the future?

"Throw-downs will not get you anything. You had to improve their technique and temperament, which you haven’t done. So make sure that ask questions from the batters who have not made runs, but also ask the coaching staff what have they done?"

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#3 Aakash Chopra

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra felt the win in the Perth Test was a "false hope" produced by Jasprit Bumrah, who took a total of eight wickets. He pointed out that there weren't many positives for the Indian team. Here's what he said on his YouTube channel:

"Although we won the Perth Test, it looked like a distant dream and a miracle. We certainly had star performers like Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Redy, but apart from them what were the positives for the side? Not a lot."

Moreover, Chopra opined that India needs to play pink-ball Tests at home to return with better performances in day-night Tests on overseas soil. He said:

"Winning BGT was only a hope and not faith to be honest. Perth win was eventually a false hope, where Bumrah made you dream one more time. But, what followed was along the expected lines.

"We are not able to handle the pink ball, and there should be a debate on how much we should play."

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#4 Irfan Pathan

Serving as a commentator on Star Sports, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan urged India to abolish superstar culture and focus on taking decisions in the welfare of the team.

“We need to end superstar culture, we need team culture. Tell me, when was the last time Virat Kohli played domestic cricket? When did it happen? Even the great Sachin Tendulkar played Ranji Trophy even when it wasn’t required of him, only because he wanted to spend that much time—four or five days—on the pitch,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.

Pathan feels if given a chance, a youngster could have done better than Virat Kohli for the national team in the longest format.

“For the Indian team in 2024, in the first innings where you basically set up the match, Virat Kohli’s average is 15. And if you consider his average over the last five years, it’s not even 30. Does the Indian team deserve its senior player? Instead, give a youngster a chance. Tell him to get ready. He will also give an average of 25–30. This is about the team, not the individuals.

"When we talk about Virat Kohli, he has done a lot for India. He has delivered many performances. But you are getting out from the same mistake again and again."

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#5 Sanjay Manjrekar

Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Australian fast bowler Scott Boland for his impressive performances in BGT 2024-25. As per Manjrekar, Boland forced the Indian batters to make mistakes due to his perfect line-lengths throughout the course of the series.

In an interaction on ESPNCricinfo, he said:

"He (Boland) has the skills, the right kind of bowling styles, right line-and-length for the pitches that he played on. He is pitch-dependent, but is damn good. He was just bowling those wicket-taking balls every delivery. So, there was no respite for whoever the batter was."

"Plus, the fact that he was alot fresher than Starc and Cummins, because he hasn't played all the test matches. So that's one benefit, when you have a skilled bowler, who hasn't bowled much," he added.

Scott Boland finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the BGT 2024-25 with 21 scalps in three games.