Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has opined on the agenda by the cricketing world against India and the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) in the recent past. His comments came as there have been recurring allegations of India trying to monopolize and even corrupt the game with its influence as well. On several occasions, the ‘biased’ nature of the Indian crowd, or the rare lack of support by them, has become a matter of fact as well. Recently, the ‘silent’ nature at the Narendra Modi Stadium during the 2023 ODI World Cup final, where India lost to Australia, was criticized as well.

“This home support business is a natural thing, as nobody likes to see their country or country’s player lose, especially in a sporting contest. Yet this support is invariably held against Indian crowds by overseas media and commentators. They quickly forget that even in their own country it is the same, and their crowds are hardly likely to support the opposition,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

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“So next time, when some commentator or media person from overseas tries to talk about the silence of the Indian crowd when India is not doing well, we should ask them why their supporters haven’t come to cheer for their team. This business of India bashing has to be countered with aggression because that’s the only language they understand,” Gavaskar further added.

However, the lack of attendance, especially in the Tests has been a concern for the cricketing boards around the world and the International Cricket Council (ICC) as well. The recently concluded Test series between England and Sri Lanka witnessed empty stands on Day 4 of
the second and third Test at Lord’s and the Oval respectively as well.

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“Please tell us what’s wrong with Test cricket presently when Tendulkar is owning the record and how will Test cricket be better if (and that’s a huge if) an Englishman goes on to hold it. In what way will it be better? Kindly enlighten us. For some strange reason, there’s a perception overseas that BCCI does not like Test cricket. That’s a ridiculous notion, as India play more than half a dozen Test matches every season, be it at home or away. Just because the IPL is massively successful doesn’t mean BCCI is not interested in promoting Test cricket, but that’s the narrative that’s being peddled by the overseas media,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.