'Main guys know they'll get selected come what may': Gavaskar exposes harsh 'truth' with indirect jibe at Rohit, Kohli

Sunil Gavaskar feels that with the West Indies series marking the beginning of a new WTC cycle, the Indian team could have gone ahead with a fresher look.

India's squad for the Test series against West Indies – a blend of youth and experience – was pretty much on expected lines. Seniors Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were retained while Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mukesh Kumar earned his maiden Test call-ups. Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped after disappointing in the World Test Championship final, but Ajinkya Rahane was promoted to vice-captain after impressing in both innings against Australia at The Oval. But while the squad was received well by the public and several ex-cricketers, one legend who let his displeasure felt was Sunil Gavaskar.

Sunil Gavaskar was as blunt as ever. (Getty Images)

The former India captain felt that with the West Indies series marking the beginning of a new WTC cycle, the Indian team could have gone ahead with a fresher and younger look. Basically, Gavaskar was expecting the big names such as Kohli, Rohit, and Rahane to be given a break and instead give more chances to those waiting in the wings but the BCCI had other plans in mind.

Ahead of the first Test between India and West Indies, Gavaskar has again questioned the team's approach. Still hurting from India's defeat at the WTC final, the legendary India batter feels nothing has changed between then and now. Lamenting the toss of preparation before the WTC final and now the series opener in Dominica, where India last played a Test match back in 2011, Gavaskar suggested this was an ideal time for India to try out its bench strength by giving certain youngsters a chance but to his dismay, the team continues to persist with those he feels will gain nothing, and this hampers the transition into the next generation of players.

‘Fringe players not getting enough opportunities to showcase their talent’: Gavaskar

"What kind of preparation are we talking about? Now they have gone to the West Indies. You have the example of the World Test Championship before you. Are you playing any matches? So what is this talk about 20-25 days? When you talk about preparation, be genuine about it. Go 15 days before, play two warm-up matches. The main guys can rest, but the fringe players might be actually challenging those who are not doing well. He does not get an opportunity to show that he is good enough," Gavaskar told The Indian Express.

The first batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, Gavaskar, who turned 74 on Monday, indirectly targetted seniors such as Kohli and Rohit bringing to light the much-debated concept of 'workload management' and pointed fingers at Team India's long list of injuries – Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar – in asking the tough questions.

"The truth is the main guys do not want to go early. Because they know that come what may, they will get selected. And when you go early, they will talk about the workload. You call yourself the fittest team in the world or fitter than the early generations then how do you break down so soon? How do you have a workload issue when you play a 20-over game?" added Gavaskar.