Sunil Gavaskar has launched a sharp attack on India’s shocking 0-2 T20I series defeat to Ireland, suggesting that overconfidence and a casual approach played a major role in the collapse. The batting great said the result in Belfast will go down as one of the darkest days in Indian cricket, especially because it came against a side India were widely expected to beat. Gavaskar drew a comparison between India’s defeat and West Indies’ famous loss to India in the 1983 ODI World Cup final at Lord’s, arguing that the manner of the dismissals told the story.

In his view, India were not undone by brilliance from Ireland alone, but by their own lack of application in key moments. In a strong column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote that the defeat to Ireland stood out as one of the lowest points in Indian cricket history. He said the pain would have been easier to accept if Ireland had produced something extraordinary, but that was not the case.

“Sunday, June 28, will go down as one of the worst days in Indian cricket. Losing a game of cricket is one thing, but to lose a series, albeit a two-match series, also depends on whom you lose to,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.

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“There are many low points in Indian cricket, and I have been a part of some, but to lose to Ireland has to be one of the lowest in the history of Indian cricket. If Ireland had played exceptional cricket, then it would have lessened the blow. It was simply overconfidence and a sense of casualness that let India down, and that’s why the sadness.”

He also said the dismissals across both matches reflected a similar pattern of overconfidence, much like West Indies’ batters in the 1983 final.

“It was very much like West Indies in the final of the 1983 World Cup. When you look at West Indies batters’ dismissals, you will see the same overconfidence and casualness that we saw from the Indian batters in both games against Ireland,” he added.

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India lost the first T20I by 34 runs and the second by one run, with both games played on pitches that offered more bounce and carry than the batting-friendly surfaces the team had grown used to in the T20 World Cup and IPL. Sunil Gavaskar concluded that reading the conditions properly was crucial, and that most of India’s batters failed to adapt when it mattered most.