Team India's 2022 T20 World Cup campaign came to an agonising end as Rohit Sharma's men suffered a thrashing at the hands of Englishmen as England registered a resounding 10-wicket win in the semi-final at the Adelaide Oval. Expected to win the title, India once again faltered in the knockouts, a movie that has now stretched from 2013 to 2022, and the drought for an ICC trophy continues.
Former India captain and legendary batter, Sunil Gavaskar, who before the World Cup affirmed that India won't have any excuses to not go all the way in the competition, lashed out at Indian players after a horrendous display in the semi-final. The cricketer-turned-commentator hinted that players only think of workload management during national duties while they continue to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"Changes will be there. Jab aap World Cup me jeet nahi sakte, changes honge. Hamne vo dekha hai ki jo New Zealand ke liye team jaa rahi hai, usme changes hue hain. ye jo 'workload-workload' ki baatein chalti hai, Kirti aur Madan ne sahi kaha ki workload sirf Bharat ke liye khelne ke liye kyun hota hai? (When you can't win World Cup, there will be changes. The team for New Zealand has changes. But everytime we talk about this ‘workload’, why does it only happen when they play for India?),” Gavaskar said in an exclusive interview.
“Aap IPL khelte hain, poora season khelte hain, vahan aap travelling karte hain… sirf pichhla IPL 4 centres me hua tha, baaki sab jagah aap idhar-udhar daudte rehte hain. Vahan par aapko thakaan nahi hoti? Vahan workload nahi hota? Sirf jab Bharat ke liye khelna hota hai, vo bhi tab jab aap non-glamorous countries me jaate hain, tab aapka workload banta hai? Ye baat galat hai. (You play in the whole season of IPL, and travel from one place to other. You don't get tired there? Is there no workload? Only when you play for India, especially when you have to tour a non-glamorous country, do you remember workload? This is wrong),” Gavaskar further said.
