Sunil Gavaskar slams Rohit Sharma after India captain calls for 'Best of three' ICC WTC Final

India captain Rohit Sharma called for 'Best of three' final after losing ICC WTC final to Australia.

India legend Sunil Gavaskar has shot down India captain Rohit Sharma’s demand for having a 3-match series finale for the ICC World Test Championship after his side suffered a 209-run loss to Australia at the Oval in the WTC 2023 final.

India's loss to Australia was their second consecutive loss in the ultimate Test after losing to New Zealand in 2021.

India's captain Rohit Sharma recommended a best-of-three finals format moving forward in the wake of the sad outcome. He repeated what former India coach Ravi Shastri and former captain Virat Kohli had remarked following their defeat in the 2021 World Tennis Championship final.

"I would love that. But is there a time? That's the big question. But honestly, in a big event like this, you need to have fair opportunities to both the teams. You know, a three-match series would be nice, but it's about finding that window where it can be fit in.

But I would love to have - in an event like this, you work hard for two years and then you have only one shot at it. So, it's not really - you cannot get into that momentum that you need in Test cricket, you know,” Rohit said in the post-match presser.

Sunil Gavaskar shoots down Rohit Sharma’s call for the best of 3 WTC final

Unfortunately for Rohit Sharma, his suggestion was strongly refused by the Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who said that teams knew about one final before the WTC cycle started. He also questioned whether players would demand the "best of three" in the IPL.

"No. This has been decided for a long time, you know even before you enter that first match of the cycle that the final is going to be just one-off. So, you have to be prepared mentally. Just like you prepare for the IPL, you don't say best of three. Everybody can have a bad day or a couple of days, but before the first ball of the cycle, you know what it is. So, you can't be asking for a best of three. Tomorrow, you may say best of five," Gavaskar told India Today.

India will next fancy their chances of an ICC event win when they host the ODI World Cup 2023 at home in October-November.