Let’s cut to the chase. Has T20 cricket deskilled Test cricket?

Wasim Jaffer: It surely has, and it’s quite exciting too. In our time, we had to play three-day or four-day cricket. We had to score big hundreds and double hundreds to get noticed. But ever since T20 came in, at the start of a season, players’ main focus is T20 cricket. This is very unlike our time where we used to look forward to the Ranji Trophy or even the Duleep Trophy because that was the pathway. Now, IPL (Indian Premier League) provides the platform to get noticed. To be honest, if I was playing in this day and age, I would probably be doing the same. My only concern is that you should fit in all three formats (ODIs, Test cricket, and T20) and today’s youngsters don’t do that. They want to play white-ball cricket. They want to play T20 cricket. But four-day cricket takes a back seat. Those small pretty knocks of 30-40 in quick time look very good in T20 cricket, but they don’t win you games in even one-day cricket, let alone four-day cricket or Test matches. We need to instill the mentality in them that even if they want to play in the T20 way, they will still need to score hundreds to make a statement. Up until players are 32-33, when their body is still fit and strong, they need to fit into all three formats. But prioritising T20 cricket… I’ve got no problem [with it].

Jaydev Unadkat: I agree. You can’t really blame youngsters coming into the game because they look at financial security. T20 cricket has helped a lot of players and families that way. On the field, I won’t say T20 has helped or has made the job easier. When we started playing, it was always red-ball cricket, which was looked up to in terms of starting a season. No one really noticed a lot of performances in white-ball cricket. The IPL has changed the game for youngsters. I was talking to Cheteshwar (Pujara) recently about how we are seeing players who have started their cricket just watching IPL. Even until 2015-16, it was a mix of T20 and red-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket is hard work. For a bowler to bowl 18-20 overs a day, sometimes without reward, is hard work. Even batters have got to grind through phases, play out sessions, play some good spells. Those were the skills that used to be seen in extraordinary players, not just hitting boundaries. It is changing, but I don’t want players to forget that sometimes bowling an eight- or a nine-over spell — despite what your physio or strength and conditioning team has told you for managing workload — is the need of the hour. You have got to do that for your team and for playing at the highest level.

With IPL having become the epicentre of world cricket and not just Indian cricket, is it too much for old-timers to expect good-old batting to be on display in the coming years?

Wasim Jaffer: Yes, it will be non-existent. You probably won’t see a player getting a hundred in 200-250 balls. Or a player leaving a ball outside off stump over after over. You’ll see a counter-attack. Pujara is the last lot of that old batsmanship, but that (old batsmanship) is the need of the hour.

A coach will now encourage a child to attack first and then teach him to defend later. It was the other way around when I was growing up. If you teach a young kid to defend first, he will lose interest because he wants to play all those fancy shots because that’s what he has seen on TV. If you try and stop him from doing it right from the word go, he will stop playing cricket.

Today’s batters give up easily mentally. They have got fantastic shots. Australia’s Sam Konstas, for example. Playing like that in one’s first Test match… we would have not even dreamt of playing like that. But today’s generation is like that. They can go out and play outrageous shots and get 20-30. They just need to understand how to dig deep. Once they understand that, the sky is the limit because they can change a game within a session or two. To make them understand this is a big challenge for the captain, coach, or mentor.

Jaydev Unadkat: The counter-attacking game has produced a lot more results and generated greater crowds, even for Test cricket, which is important. Sometimes, as players, we don’t understand the importance of the game needing crowds because that’s where you generate revenue.

As a captain, if I see the shift from T20 cricket to Ranji Trophy, the first couple of net sessions, the batters just put the bat to everything. They have got to leave some balls outside off stump as well. They have the ability but maybe not the hunger to fight it out.

You touched upon generating support from the fans, but will it last? If Test cricket played merely as an extension to T20 cricket, why will anyone follow it over five days?

Wasim Jaffer: T20 will always be the most viewed format. Obviously older people won’t enjoy it, but for the guys who are growing up now, that will always take a front seat. Test cricket has its own beauty. It’s like a game of chess or a marathon, so people enjoy it. It’s never a straight route in Test cricket. It gives you a different high and the spectators also understand that. We saw that when India won in Gabba (2021).

Jaydev Unadkat: At Gabba, you needed a Pujara and you needed a Rishabh Pant. It’s the balance and it starts from the top. If you have the mindset of rewarding those who can grind it out and those who can play those shots, that’s where we can find the balance. I can give you an example about bowlers. We (Saurashtra) have a couple of young fast bowlers who have come in, but all they think about when they want to take a wicket is whether to bowl a bouncer or a slower ball or a yorker. When I ask them about their wicket-taking plan, they never say sticking to the off-stump line or playing with a batter’s patience.

One of the challenges young batters face is managing an array of scoring strokes. How do you make them understand to manage the shots?

Wasim Jaffer: You need to make them understand that they don’t need 12 shots in every match. Probably three-four shots and they can easily get a hundred. They need to understand that they have got all the armoury but they don’t need to use all of it. On a flat wicket, they don’t need to play a sweep shot because they can score runs by just playing straight. After they hit a boundary or a six, the best way is to take a single and go to the other end and let the other guy play the next ball. That’s the challenge for the coaches — how to get them to play 100 balls? Stopping them from playing shots is not the right way. In Test cricket, you don’t need to score at a strike rate of 150; a 60-70 strike rate is good enough.

Jaydev Unadkat: Everything comes down to balancing it out. They have to figure out the strongest four on a particular day and stick to it. The captain’s and coaches’ role has also changed in that way.

Wasim Jaffer: Today’s batters are not scared to get out. I find that very strange. If they see a ball which is above their eyeline and even if the fielders are at long off, long on, deep cover, and deep midwicket, they will still play the high-risk shot. It is difficult for them to realise that if they play such a high-risk game, they could lose the wicket and if they keep doing that for two-three innings, they are playing for their spot. They need to play that ‘low risk, high reward’ game to be successful.

What’s the way forward?

Jaydev Unadkat: There is no comparison in terms of the incentives that you get in IPL and a domestic tournament. That is not going to match. Individually, if you look at domestic cricket, they could keep incentivising how much a player gets in Ranji Trophy. But that is just the financial part; it is not the solution. I feel some players just don’t want to go through the grind. You can give them financial incentives, but you have to find ways of keeping that hunger going, of providing that motivation. [They should know] how much it means for a State to win the Ranji Trophy or to win a four-day contest.

Wasim Jaffer: I am against under-19 boys getting huge (IPL) contracts. The BCCI needs to put a cap of probably ₹50 lakh or something. A youngster getting crores of rupees if he doesn’t have a good mentor… it’s going to do more harm than good for him. And players getting selected for their potential rather than performance nowadays… [That needs to change too].

Listen to the conversation in The Hindu Parley podcast

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for December 2024 after his sensational performance during the recent tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Tuesday (January 14, 2025) named ICC Men’s Player of the Month for December 2024 after his sensational performance during the recent tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Leading India’s attack single-handedly, Bumrah relentlessly kept Australian batsmen under intense pressure, claiming 22 wickets in three Tests in December last year at an outstanding average of 14.22.

He ended with 32 wickets in the five-match series which concluded on January 5. The first match was played in November. His match-winning contributions included a nine-wicket haul in Brisbane and a five-wicket display in Melbourne as he edged out Australian skipper Pat Cummins and South African Dane Paterson for the award, stated the ICC.

He also reached a significant milestone, becoming the first bowler to take 200 Test wickets at an average below 20.

Bumrah’s brilliance was evident from the very start, with a standout performance in Adelaide. His four-wicket haul was instrumental in minimising Australia’s lead in the first innings, keeping India within striking distance.

He followed this up with a sensational display in Brisbane, where his six wickets in the first innings dismantled Australia’s batting order. Bumrah added three more scalps in the second innings to complete a nine-wicket match haul.

His efforts ensured the rain-affected match ended in a draw, keeping India alive in the series.

The Boxing Day Test in Melbourne saw Bumrah deliver yet another stellar performance.

He picked up four wickets in the first innings, providing a rare bright spot in an otherwise lacklustre bowling effort by the Indian team.

He then secured a five-wicket haul in the second innings, bowling Australia out for 234. Despite his heroics, India’s batting faltered, resulting in a 184-run defeat.

India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3. In a challenging tour for the Indian team, Bumrah emerged as the lone warrior, earning him the Player of the Series Award.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah with Australia’s captain Pat Cummins following the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, on January 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continued to reign supreme at the top of the bowlers’ chart with a career-best rating of 908 in the latest ICC Test Rankings, released on Wednesday (January 8, 2025).

Bumrah, who made history ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia by recording the highest-ever ICC Rankings rating for an Indian bowler at 907 points, improved that tally by one point after taking two wickets in the first innings at the SCG.

However, a back spasm ruled him out of bowling in the second innings, restricting his role to just batting.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who climbed a spot to be joint-ninth, is the other Indian giving Bumrah company in the top-10.

He shares the ninth spot with Australian pacer Scott Boland, who has made a remarkable leap of 29 places to break into the top 10.

Boland’s stellar performance in the Sydney Test, where he claimed a 10-wicket haul (4/31 and 6/45), proved too much for the Indian batters on a lively pitch.

His efforts were instrumental in Australia’s triumph, ending a decade-long wait to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins also made gains in the rankings, climbing to number two after picking up five wickets in the final match. South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada rose a spot to occupy the third place while injured Josh Hazlewood moved down two places to be fourth.

Rishabh Pant’s blistering 33-ball 61 in the second innings earned him a three-spot rise in the batting rankings, moving him to number nine while India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal retained his fourth spot.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma extended his rich vein of form, scoring a vital century in the first innings to climb three spots to number six, also achieving a career-best rating of 769.

Meanwhile, Kyle Verreynne’s impressive century saw him rise four places to secure the 25th spot.

Umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat, centre, gestures to India’s Jasprit Bumrah, right, as he exchanges words with Australia’s Sam Konstas, left, during play on the first day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025
| Photo Credit: AP

Australia’s teenage batting sensation Sam Konstas regrets his involvement in the stand-off with Jasprit Bumrah during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, admitting he was only trying to waste time but ultimately, the Indian pace spearhead had the “last laugh”.

Konstas made an impact in the final two Tests of the series with his audacious strokeplay but also found himself at the centre of a couple of fiery exchanges with Indian stars Bumrah and Virat Kohli.

One such incident occurred on the opening day of the fifth Test, when Konstas had a heated run-in with Bumrah.

“I love being in the contest and always try to put my best foot forward,” Konstas told CODE Sports.

Near the end of the day’s play, Bumrah, looking to get in one more over, was met with resistance from the Australian players, who were trying to waste time. This led to a fiery exchange of words between Konstas and the Indian pacer.

Two deliveries later, Bumrah, who was leading the side in the absence of an off-colour Rohit Sharma, took the wicket of Usman Khawaja off the last ball.

After dismissing Khawaja, Bumrah walked in Konstas’ direction and stared him down.

Reflecting on the incident, Konstas admitted, “I feel like it’s probably a good learning for me. I was trying to waste a little bit of time there so they didn’t get another over. But he (Bumrah) had the last laugh.

“Obviously he is world class and he took, what, 32 wickets in the series.”

Konstas seems to have learned his lesson about not provoking the peerless pacer. “If that happened again, maybe I wouldn’t have said anything,” he said.

The teenager was also involved in an on-field exchange with Kohli, who shoulder-charged Konstas, followed by a heated verbal exchange between the two.

However, Konstas revealed that despite the incident, he later went to speak with his childhood hero Kohli.

“I had a little chat after the game telling him that I idolise him, and it’s obviously a huge honour playing against him,” Konstas said.

“When I did verse him, I was like, ‘wow, Virat Kohli is batting.’ He just had that presence about him, all the Indian crowd getting amongst it. Chanting his name. It was quite surreal”.

Konstas added that “He was very down to earth. A lovely person and just wishing me all the best saying hopefully I go well on the tour of Sri Lanka he said if I’m in.

“My whole family loves Virat. I’ve idolised him from a young age and he’s a legend of the game.”

Washington Sundar. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna, Devdutt Padikkal and Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar will be available for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout matches, starting in Vadodara from Thursday (January 9, 2025), after featuring in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia.

However, K.L. Rahul, who played all the five Test matches against the Aussies, has requested for a break and will skip the Hazare knockouts.

Rahul’s availability for the second phase of the Ranji Trophy, beginning on January 23, will be decided at a later date. India head coach Gautam Gambhir had recently expressed his desire to see frontline Indian players making themselves available for the remainder of the premier domestic red-ball tournament.

Washington, though, could link up with Tamil Nadu only if the team progresses to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He played three matches and made 114 runs with a fifty but bowled just 37 overs across those Tests as pacers were preferred because of the conditions. The off-spinner took just three wickets.

Prasidh will be high on confidence after making a good impression in the fifth Test at Sydney, where the pacer grabbed six Australian wickets — 3/42 in the first innings and 3/65 in the second essay.

Devdutt played just one Test match at Perth, primarily because skipper Rohit Sharma stayed back in India to welcome his second baby.

The left-hander made a zero and 25 in India’s 295-run win at Perth but was not selected for any of the other four Test matches.

The 24-year-old was in terrific form prior to leaving for Australia for the India A tour, smashing four First-Class hundreds across Duleep Trophy and in the first leg of the Ranji Trophy.

Both Prasidh and Devdutt are scheduled to join the Karnataka squad on January 10, a day ahead of their quarterfinal match against Baroda at Vadodara.

Nitish to play Ranji

Nitish Kumar Reddy too will fly out of Australia on Wednesday but he will not be seen in action immediately as Andhra has not progressed to the knockout stage.

However, Nitish, who impressed everyone with his gutsy batting Down Under including a hundred at Melbourne, is likely to play in the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.

He has played only one match this season before travelling to Australia.

Andhra has two matches left this season against Puducherry from January 23 and against Rajasthan from January 30.

They are currently placed seventh in Elite Group B with four points after three defeats and two draws from five matches.

File photo of Mohammed Shami.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Questioning Mohammed Shami’s injury management, former greats Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting feel the veteran pacer could have tilted the series in India’s favour had he been added to the squad in the second half of the five-match Border-Gavaskar series.

India’s decade-long stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended after they went down by six wickets in Sydney to lose the series 1-3.

The pacer, after recovering from an ankle injury, returned to action for his home state Bengal and impressed in all the three formats — Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and Vijay Hazare one-dayers –, raising hopes of a late inclusion.

But he was officially ruled out before the fourth Test in Melbourne with the BCCI medical team citing a knee swelling, though both Ponting and Shastri believe a trip to Australia and a return late in the series could have been pushed.

“To be honest, I was very surprised with the communication going on in the media as to what exactly happened to Mohammed Shami,” the former Indian head coach stated in The ICC Review.

“Where is he when it comes to recovery? He’s been sitting in the NCA for I don’t know how long. Why can’t proper communication come out on where he stands? A player of his ability, I would have brought him to Australia.

“Absolutely, there’s no question about that (Shami could have tilted the series in Melbourne or Sydney),” Shastri added.

The 62-year-old further said it would have been beneficial if Shami had, at least, travelled with the group in Australia.

“I would have kept him part of the team and made sure that his rehabilitation was done with the team,” said Shastri.

“And then if we thought by the third Test match that no, this guy can’t play the rest of the series, I would let him go. But I would have brought him with the team, kept him, monitored him with the best of the physios and best of the advice even from international physios who are in Australia and seeing how he went. But I would have kept him in the mix.” Shastri believes the fast bowler could have provided adequate help to Jasprit Bumrah, who too struggled with fitness at the end of the series and could not bowl in the second innings of the Sydney Test.

“It got so tight at 1-1 going into Melbourne,” he said.

“You just needed that experience and support. For all you know, he might have raised the bar as well. And it would have been the two guys there (Bumrah and Shami).

“Pat Cummins couldn’t have done it on his own, Scotty Boland had to step in. So you needed a bowler of his experience. You know, as hard as Mohammed Siraj tried, you needed Shami’s experience there.” Echoing Shastri’s views, Australian World Cup-winning captain Ponting said: “I was really surprised when he wasn’t flown out even halfway through the series, two Test matches in.” “India’s make-up obviously had Nitish Reddy there. So you had another seam bowling all-rounder anyway.

“So, if Shami, even if he wasn’t fully fit, if he had to bowl fewer overs in a day, you had a backup seam bowling option to help him out and I think he could have been the difference.

“When you asked me (in an earlier The ICC Review) at the start about what I thought the result would be, I said 3-1 Australia because Shami wasn’t there. That was the first thing I said. That’s how important I felt he was to India.

“If Shami, Bumrah and Siraj were in their starting team, I think things could have been completely different here in Australia.” Shami is currently playing in the domestic one-dayers for the Vijay Hazare Trophy and it remains to be seen if he’s included for the England home series ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in February.

Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

World Cup-winning former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has said that being whitewashed at home by New Zealand was a bigger low for Team India than the loss of Border-Gavaskar Trophy but refused to join the chorus of criticism against embattled veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

India have endured a difficult last few months in the five-day format, going down 0-3 to an under-strength New Zealand at home, which was a first in the team’s Test history. This was followed by a 1-3 drubbing by Australia in the away edition of the Border Gavaskar series.

Both the debacles have been largely attributed to the team’s batting frailties, especially those of Rohit and Kohli.

“According to me, losing (to) New Zealand is more hurting (sic). Because they are losing 3-0 at home. You know, that is not acceptable. This (losing BGT) is still acceptable because you have won two times in Australia. And this time you lost,” Yuvraj told ‘PTI Videos‘ in an interview in Dubai.

“Australia has been a dominant side for the last so many years, that is my thought,” the 43-year-old hero of India’s 2011 World Cup triumph said.

While Kohli managed at least a hundred during the series despite continuing to be dismissed whenever he was baited outside the off stump, Rohit was worse with a tally of just 31 runs and had to drop himself from the final Test.

But Yuvraj said it is unfair to lambast the duo given their past achievements.

“We are talking about our greats, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, we are saying very bad things about them,” he said.

“…people forget what they have achieved in the past. They are one of the greatest cricketers of this time. Okay, they lost, they did not play good cricket. They are getting hurt more than us,” he added.

Hopeful that India would bounce back strongly, Yuvraj said he has full faith in not just Rohit and Kohli but also new head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was his former teammate as well.

“I feel that Gautam Gambhir as a coach, Ajit Agarkar as a selector, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, they are the best minds in cricket right now,” he asserted.

“And they have to decide what’s the way for Indian cricket in future,” he said.

The big-hitting former batter also lauded Rohit for dropping himself from the Sydney Test, saying it was a selfless act.

“I think it is a big thing. I have never seen in the past that the captain’s form is not going well and he himself has gone out. And this is Rohit Sharma’s greatness that he has kept the team ahead of himself,” Yuvraj said.

“I think he is a great captain. Whether win or lose, he will always be a great captain. And in his captaincy, we have played the (ODI) World Cup final. We won a T20 World Cup. We have achieved a lot,” he pointed out.

He urged the critics to exercise restraint while dissecting the team’s performance.

“I was a student of the game and now I am a student of the game. The amount of cricket I have played, they have played more cricket than me,” said the man, who played 304 ODIs, 40 Tests and 58 T20 Internationals for India, amassing 11,000 runs across formats.

“I can give my opinion. And my opinion is that when players are not performing, it is easy to say bad about them. But it is very difficult to support them. Media’s job is to say bad about them. My job is to support my friends and brothers. For me, they are my family. Simple,” he signed off.

File picture of former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who lavished praise on Jasprit Bumrah’s performance during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series
| Photo Credit: ANI

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that if star bowler Jasprit Bumrah had not taken part in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), India would have suffered a 5-0 series defeat instead of a 3-1 humbling by Australia.

In 45 days of riveting cricket, Bumrah led India’s fight against the WTC champions, picking crucial Australian wickets across the five matches.

He was the mastermind behind India’s record-shattering 295-run victory in the series opener in Perth. He ended the series as the leading wicket-taker and was awarded the player of the series. Despite India’s series loss, Bumrah garnered much praise and even Travis Head admitted that it was the best “individual performance” that he had seen since he started playing the format.

Harbhajan praised Bumrah and said that if the “national treasure” wasn’t a part of the team, India would have lost the BGT by 5-0 or 4-0 in favour of Australia.

“If Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t in this tour, the series would have ended 5-0. Jassi saved India in Perth. After Adelaide, he saved India in the rest of the matches. If he wasn’t in the series, India would have lost by either 5-0 or 4-0,” Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

He ended the five-match BGT series with 32 wickets, making him India’s highest wicket-taker in a Test series against the Baggy Greens on Australian soil.

Bumah arrived at his tally at an exceptional average of 12.64, including three five-wicket hauls, with a best of 6/76. In doing so, he surpassed Bishan Singh Bedi’s record of 31 wickets from the 1977-78 tour of Australia.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney on January 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A wide grin plastered on his face, Pat Cummins strode into the press-conference hall at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday (January 5, 2025). Looking at the just concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the Australian captain said: “It is a huge win. I felt it was kind of see-sawing throughout the whole series, so to finish it at 3-1 and to hold the trophy is an amazing feeling.”

Reflecting on the last few months, Cummins said: “We grew up watching Test cricket, loving it, so to be right in the mix, you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world for these couple of months.”

With Virat Kohli probably having played his last set of Tests in Australia, Cummins was quick to praise: “It has always been a wonderful contest (against him). More than just the runs that he brings to the game, it is also the debate he stirs, sometimes it can roil you as an opposition, which I am sure is part of his plans. It will be a shame if he doesn’t play any more Tests here.”

Asked about the turnaround after the loss in the first Test at Perth, Cummins said: “We always knew we had a good team. The message was to stay strong. To get the selections right.” The host skipper praised his team, especially key players like Scott Boland and debutant Beau Webster.

As for the imminent tour of Sri Lanka, Cummins hinted that he might skip as he is expecting his second child: “Becky’s (his wife) hanging on at the moment, so we will play it by ear. But I think, mostly I might struggle to get over there (Sri Lanka).”

Former Australian cricketer Allan Border presents the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to captain Pat Cummins on the third day of the fifth and final Test in Sydney on January 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday (January 5, 2025) expressed his displeasure after not being invited to present the trophy, named after him and Allan Border, to Australia following their win over India in the high-voltage five-match rubber.

Australia reclaimed the the Border-Gavaskar trophy after 10 years with a six-wicket win over India in the fifth and final Test.

Border presented the trophy to the home team but Gavaskar, despite being at the venue at the same time, was inexplicably ignored.

“I certainly would have loved to have been there for the presentation. After all it is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and it is about Australia and India,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Code Sports.

“I mean, I am here on the ground. To me it should not matter that Australia won when it comes to the presentation. They played better cricket so they won. That’s fine.

“Just because I am an Indian. I would have been happy to present the trophy with my good friend Allan Border,” he added.

Both India and Australia have been competing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 1996-1997 and the rivalry has grown to become one of the biggest in Test cricket.

The five-match series that Australia won drew record crowds at multiple venues and broke an 87-year-old attendance record at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week.