"Bold decisions" from BCCI selectors on the cards for England test tour, feels Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar backs for younger players to be picked for the tour of England.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that he won’t be surprised if the selectors decide to move on from some senior players and give opportunities to younger ones on the test tour of England later in the year.

With the 1-3 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia, India’s road in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 came to an end. Australia, who are the defending champions, sealed their place in the WTC final, which they will play against South Africa at the Lord’s in June.

The next cycle for India will kick off with the five-match test series in England, starting on June 20.

Look for players who would be there for the next final: Sunil Gavaskar

Following the series loss in Australia, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has opined that the BCCI selectors could look to make some “bold decisions” when they pick the squad for the tour of England.

He reckons the selectors would ponder over dropping the out-of-form senior players who are on the wrong side of their age and are unlikely to be part of the WTC 2025-27 final in 2027.

“Now that India has failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final and the new cycle for the WTC starting with the tour to England in mid-June, it won’t be a surprise if the selectors take the bold decision to start the qualification process by looking for players who would be there for the next final in 2027,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.

While Ravi Ashwin retired at the age of 38, captain Rohit Sharma, who will turn 38 this April, and Virat Kohli, who will be closer to turning 37 by June, have given no indications of moving away from test cricket, despite their poor form.

In his last eight tests, Rohit averaged only 10.9 and dropped himself from the Sydney test. Kohli averaged 23.15 since 2024, and has been performing well-below his standards for the last four-five years. But the main issue with Kohli has been his inability to rectify his weakness in dealing with balls outside the off-stump; he got out eight times edging behind in Australia.

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