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'Biggest whingeing media in sport': Gavaskar attacks England before Test series, points at hypocrisy in 'SENA' coverage
Sunil Gavaskar didn't hold back as he spoke in detail about the double-standards in coverage – particularly about pitch conditions – in ‘SENA’ countries.
The second and final Test of the series between South Africa and India in Cape Town grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons. While the Proteas were all out for merely 55 in the first innings, Team India lost their last six wickets of the innings without a run added to the 153-run score. The visitors wrapped up a seven-wicket win within just five sessions of the Test, making it the shortest match in the format's history. The pitch at Newlands came under significant scrutiny, and rightfully so, as Indian captain Rohit Sharma and South Africa's batting coach Ashwell Prince expressed their criticism of the surface in press conferences.
Rohit also highlighted the double standards in criticism of pitches in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries compared to the subcontinent decks. The Indian captain insisted that seaming pitches from Day 1 are acceptable, but turning surfaces in the subcontinent draw criticism. His comments gained traction on social media platforms, and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also joined the debate on Sunday, as he spoke about the 'excuses' made for pitches such as the one in Cape Town.
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“These kind of excuses that the curator got it wrong is typical of the SENA countries,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day. Referring to India's four-match Test series against Australia last year, the former India batter said, “When our curators make a dry pitch then it’s ‘chicanery’, as a former Australian skipper said last year after the Aussies had been walloped in the first two Test matches. So our groundsmen do it deliberately, but their groundsmen just get it wrong. It’s like before the third country umpires came in, where decisions by their umpires were excused as ‘human error’ while our umpires were cheats and ‘Delhi Butchers’ and all such derogatory headlines.”
Gavaskar also wrote about England's upcoming tour of India, launching a brutal attack on the English media for their coverage of overseas tours.
“In about three weeks time another Test series starts with a country that has the biggest whingeing and moaning media in sport. Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticised and allegations will fly thick and fast,” wrote the former India skipper.
The first Test between India and England takes place between January 25 to 29 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
