Former Indian player Sunil Gavaskar said that the narrow escape in the one-off T20I against Japan should be on the players’ minds as they head into the 2026 Asian Games as well. In a rain-shortened five-over contest, India were on the verge of facing an embarrassing loss to Japan, a week before their Asian Games campaign. The Indian batters struggled on the conditions in Sano, scoring only 32 runs in their five overs. Japan were on course to pull off a massive upset, needing only eight off the final over but losing by two runs, courtesy of a brilliant last over from Axar Patel.

Talking about this, Gavaskar said in his column for the Mid-Day: “The game against Japan was a good pinch for the Indian team, where they were one good strike away from being beaten. That should keep them in fine fettle when they begin their campaign (Asian Games). They will have to be a bit watchful as the pitch is going to be uncertain, and the outfield with its softness is something where the sliding stop can be a bit of a concern too.”

“The women’s cricket team brought the first gold and their wins in the Asia Cup, and now the gold at the Asian Games has put some pressure on the men’s team to emulate them in getting the gold. There are also moments when a medal is lost by the merest of margins, and the tears of the athlete are also the tears of the entire nation’s sporting community,” he further shared.

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Sunil Gavaskar also warned the next Team India chairman of selectors about the criticisms that come with the role, as Ajit Agarkar’s term comes to an end.

“There is, of course, the honour of being the Chairman of the national selection committee, but it also comes with a target mark on the back. Like with umpiring, wicketkeeping and now, commentary, the nine good things that have been done will be forgotten and the one so-called error will be magnified a hundred times and discussed over and over again,” said Gavaskar.

“The thing that most people tend not to be aware of is that many decisions could be forced on the Chairman by the other selectors, but since he has to front the media, he is the one who gets the blame. So, the mischief-makers could be the other selectors, but it’s the Chairman who is singled out for criticism,” he concluded.