“Not Indian phenomenon, happens in every country” – Sunil Gavaskar takes a dig at English commentators on favoritism amid Ashes 2023

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed English commentators for criticizing Indian fans regarding favoritism. The 73-year-old said that it’s natural for local fans to support the home team, citing England as an example.

For the uninitiated, the crowds in England have only been seen celebrating when the home team has performed well in the ongoing Ashes series. Former England cricketers-turned-commentators have also continued to back the hosts to win despite Australia being in commanding positions during the first two Tests, winning them by two wickets and 43 runs, respectively.

In his Mid-Day column Sunil Gavaskar criticized the singling out of Indian fans for that kind of attitude, writing:

“It’s only natural that the crowds will support their own team and won’t cheer the opponents, but to suggest that it happens only in India is ridiculous. This is not an Indian phenomenon, but happens in every country where home crowds keep silent when a boundary is hit against their bowlers or their batters get out.”

The legendary batter added:

“Nowhere has it been more apparent than at the current Ashes series. What bugs is the condescending way, overseas commentators, when they come to India, keep saying how quiet the Indian crowd at the ground is when an Indian batter gets out or when an Indian bowler is hit for a boundary.”

Ashes podcast - Day 5 (2nd Test) is an example of such comments from former English cricketers:

Here's how a user reacted to the video:

"Love how the English convince themselves they are in a good position because of an epic and historic innings played 4 years ago."

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Sunil Gavaskar slams English media for manner of handling Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal after 2nd Ashes Test

Sunil Gavaskar further slammed the English media for the way they handled Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal. The veteran pointed out that England captain Ben Stokes’ century was a much bigger topic of discussion than the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate.

The cricketer-turned-commentator wrote:

“Typically, while the cricketing world is busy discussing the rights and wrongs of the Jonny Bairstow stumping in the second Test match at Lord’s, the really important cricketing aspect of Ben Stokes’s marvelous innings has receded into the background. It’s a great example of how little things so often overshadow the more important happenings.”

Gavaskar concluded:

“This has been the usual diversionary tactic used by the overseas media for years where a small insignificant incident is made to cover up for a bigger failure of the team.”

It’s worth noting that Stokes smashed 155 off 214 balls to keep England in the game on the final day of the second Ashes Test.

Watch Bairstow's dismissal and Stokes' innings below:

The left-hander shared a century partnership with Stuart Broad for the seventh wicket but failed to take his team past the finish line.

Click here to follow the 3rd Test live score updates.