Former captain and Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has come out in support of senior cricketer Mithali Raj in the controversy surrounding her exclusion from the Indian team for last week’s World T20 semi-final, saying a player of her experience should not have been left out of a crucial match.
35-year-old Raj was left out of the World T20 semi-final defeat to England despite having scored fifties in both of her appearances with the bat in the tournament.
The team management cited cricketing logic behind the move, suggesting they didn’t want to alter a winning combination, but Gavaskar voiced his disapproval while speaking to India Today.
I feel sorry for Mithali. She has served Indian cricket for 20 years. She scored runs, she won player of the match in both matches. You have to pick your best player for the knockouts. You needed the experience and expertise of Mithali Raj.Sunil Gavaskar to India Today
Gavaskar equated the veteran’s importance to the Indian women’s team to that of Virat Kohli in the men’s setup while blasting the ill-fated decision, which has been criticised by many in the cricket community.
She was injured for one game but fit for the next game. Just convert this situation into the men’s game. If you had a Virat Kohli who was injured for one game and then is fit for the knockout, will you leave him out?Sunil Gavaskar to India Today
The more recent development in the story was the leak of an e-mail written by Raj to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim, where she accused coach Ramesh Powar and CoA member Diana Edulji, saying they were trying to “destroy” her.
Gavaskar distanced himself from commenting on Powar’s role from the outside, but maintained the reasoning provided for Raj’s ouster remained wrong.
“What happened with Powar. It is very difficult to comment on that from here. but it's difficult to accept whatever the reason was. They said they wanted to stick with the same team, I don't think that's a good enough excuse. You can't drop someone like Mithali Raj,” said the 69-year-old former captain.
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