Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed former England captain Michael Vaughan’s remarks about Joe Root potentially surpassing Sachin Tendulkar as the leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Vaughan, during an episode of Club Prairie Fire podcast, suggested that it was only a matter of time before Root broke Tendulkar’s record, also implying that the BCCI would do everything in its power to keep the record with an Indian player.
The debate over Joe Root potentially surpassing Sachin Tendulkar has stirred excitement in the English media and among their players. Last week, former England captain Michael Vaughan cheekily suggested that Root breaking Tendulkar’s record would add intrigue to Test cricket, implying that the BCCI would do everything in its power to ensure an Indian player eventually reclaims the top spot. However, this remark did not sit well with Sunil Gavaskar, who sharply criticized what he sees as constant “Indian bashing.” In a fiery response, the legendary cricketer dismissed the notion that Indian cricket doesn’t prioritize Test cricket, calling it baseless.
“I can say with experience of more than 50 years that it’s not just the Indian crowds who are silent when their team is not doing well but crowds in every country. If there is some noise when, say, India is doing well overseas, it’s because of the number of Indian supporters who travel long distances from India and who cheer for them and not the locals.”
“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.
“Recently, I heard someone saying it would be good for Test cricket if Joe Root overtook Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs and centuries in Test match cricket. 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,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar on Thursday.
Gavaskar signed off by saying one should wait and watch whether the 2025 World Test Championship final venue will be shifted from Lord’s or not. “The ICC just announced that the WTC final will be played at Lord’s next June. Well, we have heard the same declaration twice earlier, but as soon as it’s seen that England is not going to qualify for the final, the venue gets changed to Southampton or The Oval in London.
