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Michael Clarke feels Sunil Gavaskar was even right to feel offended by the non-invite to the ceremony.
Sunil Gavaskar (AFP Photo)
Michael Clarke was unhappy with Cricket Australia for ‘missing a trick’ and not inviting Sunil Gavaskar to join Allan Border and hand over the 2025 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. He said with both legends being present at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), ‘it just didn’t make sense’ to only ask the winning country’s icon to hand over the trophy to the captain.
Gavaskar was the first to express his displeasure. While speaking to Code Sports, moments after the presentation ceremony, he said he’d have been ‘happy to’ present the trophy to Australia with his ‘good friend’ Border and that it shouldn’t matter that he was Indian.
“I just think Cricket Australia missed a trick,” Clarke said on ESPN Australia. “Now I know a lot of people don’t know that it was planned before the series started, that if India were to win, Sunil Gavaskar would present the trophy. If Australia were to win, Alan Border would present the trophy. So it wasn’t a surprise to those two guys. But to me, it just doesn’t make sense. Like, they’re both there. No matter who won, in my opinion, they both should have walked out, they both should have been on stage, they both should have presented the trophy.”
Clarke added that he understood why Gavaskar would take offense.
“I think we’re very lucky to have both Allan Border and Sunny Gavaskar in the country, commentating at the right time. You don’t get that very often. Both legends of the game that the trophy is named are still around and are in the country at the same time. So I just think we missed a trick there. I think it sounds to me that, you know, it obviously offended Sunny as well, and I can understand why. I think they both should have been on that stage presenting that trophy no matter who won,” the former Australia skipper added.
Australia won the SCG Test by six wickets to clinch the series 3-1. It was the first time since 2017 that the trophy went to Border’s land.
Gavaskar and Border have had good relations since their playing days. The series was named after them in 1996 when they were the only two batters with more than 10,000 runs in men’s Tests.
