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Legendary Sunil Gavaskar left disappointed after Australia's commanding six-wicket win at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Gavaskar was not only disappointed by Team India's performance which led to the series defeat after a decade but he wasn't invited by Cricket Australia to present the trophy to Pat Cummins in the post-match ceremony alongside Allan Border. Reacting to the blunder, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajiv Shukla said that the hosts missed a rare opportunity.
“I certainly would have loved to have been there for the presentation. After all, it is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and it is about Australia and India. I mean, I am here on the ground. To me, it should not matter that Australia won when it comes to the presentation. They played better cricket so they won. That’s fine. Just because I am an Indian (I did not present the trophy). I would have been happy to present the trophy with my good friend Allan Border,” Gavaskar said as quoted by Code Sports.
"I fully agree with Neil. It happened when Gavaskar was present in the stadium. Trophy is in their names and one of them was not invited to podium. After four years who knows whether both will be present at the stadium? Both together would have been a rare visual," Shukla wrote on X in reply to a post.
CA accepts their mistake
While Gavaskar said that he was told beforehand that Allan Border will present the trophy if Australia win, Cricket Australia accepeted their mistake in a statement.
"We acknowledge it would have been preferable if both AB and Sunil had been asked to go on stage," CA said in a statement.
"The plan was that if India won Sunil would present and Allan Border would present to Australia," a CA official said elaborating on the matter," CA's statement added.
Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade and also booked their berth in the second consecutive WTC final.
