Former batter Sunil Gavaskar is not sure if the current Indian cricketers will follow head coach Gautam Gambhir’s instructions on domestic cricket. Gambhir urged the players to give importance to domestic matches when they are not playing international cricket to prepare for Test cricket. He commented after Indian batters failed miserably in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar opined on the team’s batting woes, highlighting the disappointing performance during the 0-3 Test series defeat against New Zealand at home. A similar pattern was witness during the 1-3 series lost to Australia in the BGT.

“We will find out about the seriousness of Gambhir’s statement,” Gavaskar said.

“Some of the matches will be played in the next 15 days and we will see whether the players will follow the instructions of their coach. There are some players who have taken their places for granted, thinking they can’t be benched, no matter what happens. Let us see if they obey the statement given by Gautam Gambhir,” he added.

The second round of the Ranji Trophy starts on January 23, featuring two matches before the knockout games. However, India’s white-ball matches against England is set to begin on January 22, raising doubts about the availability of top players for the red-ball tournament.

After Jay Shah’s warning, more players competed in domestic cricket. However, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have kept themselves away from the games.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy were the most consistent batters in Australia. Sunil Gavaskar also slammed the team management for not playing practice matches during Test assignments outside India.

“Practice matches help players. Indian players were free for 24 days in Australia but they didn’t feel the need to play warm-up matches, which is surprising,” he concluded.