Sunil Gavaskar has issued a sharp warning to head coach Gautam Gambhir and the Indian team after their disappointing 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens, blaming the loss on players’ reluctance to participate in domestic cricket.
The former India captain criticised the batting collapse during India’s chase of a modest 124-run target, a defeat that handed South Africa a 1-0 lead in the two-Test Freedom Trophy. India were forced to play with only 10 batters after captain Shubman Gill walked off with a neck injury, further exposing the team’s depth issues.
Gavaskar said the core problem runs deeper than workload or injuries it’s the lack of competitive domestic cricket experience.
“A lot of our players don’t play domestic cricket,” he said. “When you play Ranji Trophy, you face pitches where the ball grips, turns and tests your technique. But none of our current players go back to play Ranji. How many even bother?”
The batting legend argued that skipping red-ball domestic cricket has left India’s batters ill-equipped for challenging conditions. He urged team management to prioritise players who consistently feature in the Ranji Trophy instead of those who avoid it under the guise of “workload management.”
He added that several top players only show interest in domestic cricket when they are out of form and need match practice, which creates a widening disconnect between domestic and international cricket standards in India.
Workload, Gavaskar said bluntly, has become an excuse.
“They don’t want to play. They will play the Ranji Trophy only if they are dropped. Otherwise, they don’t want to.”
The poor batting display in Kolkata has now raised questions about India’s preparedness for difficult pitches as they head into the second Test, a must win encounter to level the series. Experts believe India’s struggle to chase a small target under pressure reflects the growing gap between elite cricket and the domestic grind that once shaped India’s finest players.
With workload management increasingly keeping senior players away from domestic commitments, Gavaskar’s comments have reignited debate on whether India’s cricketing ecosystem is becoming too dependent on limited-overs stars and IPL-centric preparation.
