Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has urged the BCCI to stop being admirers of players and take strict actions to bring Indian cricket back on track. Reacting to India’s 3-1 Test series defeat in Australia, Gavaskar said that only players fully committed to the team’s cause must be selected for national team as well. His comments came after India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Speaking after India’s six-wicket defeat in the fifth and final Test in Sydney on Sunday, January 5, Gavaskar told India Today: “I think the next 8–10 days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself. Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection.”

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We don’t need players who are partly here and partly elsewhere. It’s time to stop pampering anyone. The recent results have been disappointing—we should have been in the World Test Championship final but didn’t make it. The cricket board needs to stop acting like admirers and put their foot down. They must tell the players that Indian cricket comes first. It’s either a full commitment to Indian cricket or other priorities—you can’t have it both ways. If Indian cricket is your priority, only then should you be selected,” he further added.

Notably, Indian captain Rohit Sharma missed the first Test of the series to be with his family for the birth of his second child. However, he played the next three Tests but managed only 31 runs in five innings and opted out of the last Test as well.