‘Indian cricketers are neither machines nor sugarcane’: Sunil Gavaskar wants ICC to fix India’s ‘unending’ season

Sunil Gavaskar has urged a rethink of India’s packed cricket calendar, stressing player workload and the need to prioritise domestic cricket.

The sun may have set on the British Empire, but former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reckons there is no such ending in sight for Indian cricket’s season.

Sunil Gavaskar calls for domestic cricket to be prioritised (Deepak Salvi)

In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar called for a reconsideration of the packed calendar for Indian cricketers, warning against pushing players from one series and tournament to another without adequate breaks. The remarks came a week after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia attributed the recent spate of injuries plaguing Indian cricket to the high volume of matches the team is playing, with the board eager to find a solution.

With the ICC set to discuss the next four-year cycle beginning in 2027, Gavaskar hopes the decision will be taken having in mind the strain on players.

“The recent meeting to take stock of Indian cricket did try to come to grips with the issue. Hopefully, when the ICC meeting to discuss the international cricket calendar over the next cycle of four years from 2027 takes place, the decision-makers will realise that Indian cricketers are neither machines nor sugarcane to be endlessly squeezed for every drop of the juice,” Gavaskar wrote in his column.

‘Need to prioritise domestic cricket’

Beyond workload concerns, the former India batter reckoned Indian cricket has, at the moment, become too focused on the national team, reminding that the India side is merely a by-product of Indian cricket and does not represent the entirety of the ecosystem.

“The India cricket team is not Indian cricket,” he wrote. “The India cricket team is the by-product of Indian cricket.”

Gavaskar argued that while India can field multiple teams, the on-paper depth does not necessarily indicate a pipeline capable of consistently producing world-class cricketers. India have been widely praised in recent years for their bench strength, but Gavaskar stressed that a strong national team can only be sustained by a robust domestic structure.

“The argument that India’s bench strength is such that it can field three teams is good to make claims for the world, but the reality, as recent results have shown, is that one India team is at the moment not good enough to win much silverware. Yes, a gold in the Asian Games will once again rejuvenate the team and give it the confidence for oncoming battles, but unless domestic cricket is prioritised, the pipeline will not produce world beaters. All the best to both our boys and girls to win the gold,” Gavaskar wrote.