Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar does not mince words and speaks bluntly if he does not agree with something. This time, the expert showed the foreign greats their place for commenting on the Shreyas Iyer snub from the Asia Cup 2025 15-member squad. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper's exclusion has raised quite a eyebrows, with many calling it a costly blunder, considering the rich vein of form the batter showed in the IPL 2025 season and in the preceding Champions Trophy 2025 event.
Apart from Iyer, even India's Test skipper Shubman Gill copped a lot of criticism for being selected in the squad despite playing a T20I in July 2024. However, the highest criticism was reserved for BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, who picked the squad for the Continental Cup. While an outburst from several Indian experts is expected, Gavaskar was not pleased with a few of the foreign cricketers giving their views on the topic related to India.
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"What is baffling is foreigners who have zero stake in Indian cricket, and much less knowledge about it, wading into the debate and adding fuel to the fire. However great they may be as players and however many times they may have been to India, the selection of the Indian team is strictly none of their business," Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.
"They should focus on their country's cricket and let us Indians worry about our cricket. Amazingly, when their country's teams are selected, there's hardly anything, if ever, heard from them about the selection. It's almost as if the selection is perfect and they have no comments to make. So, why butt your nose into the selection of the Indian team? Have you ever heard Indian ex-cricketers talk about the selection of other countries’ teams? No, we mind our own business, and seriously couldn’t be bothered by who they choose or who they don't select."
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While the former India opener did not take any of the players' name, his criticism was seemed to be directed at AB de Villiers and Brad Haddin. While the former's take on the Iyer snub was more subdued, the latter, who also happens to be PBKS assistant coach, did not like his team's captain being dropped despite not much of his fault.
Stop speaking about Indian cricket to get more views on your YouTube Channel: Gavaskar
Gavaskar further went on to slam the foreign players for commenting on the Indian cricket for their own benefit. Incidentally, AB runs his own YouTube Channel, sharing several relevant topics. Haddin has been a regular guest on the LiSTNR Sport Podcast. A lot of YouTubers speak negatively about Indian cricket just to get traction on their social media handle.
With more views, shares, and likes, their video gets instantly popular. Most of the comments are from Indian users. Hence, a lot of time, these foreign stars or sometimes the Indian experts speak on trending topics.
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"To an extent, the Indian media is also responsible, as they go to overseas cricketers and ask them about Indian cricket. How often, on overseas tours, do we see members of the Indian media chasing former players from the host country – players whom even their own nation has almost forgotten – for an interview? It’s almost as if validation about Indian cricket and its cricketers has to be obtained from overseas players."
