“Only to fulfill the commitment to the broadcasters” - Legendary Indian’s brutal remark on AUS vs IND 2025 series

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar believes the ongoing white-ball series in Australia had little to no significance and is being played only to fulfill the broadcasters' commitments. India play three ODIs and five T20Is in their white-ball tour down under from October 19 to November 8.

The visitors have already gone down in the opening ODI at Perth by seven wickets in a rain-reduced 26-over contest. With the ODI World Cup still two years away, the ongoing three-match series has been built up more for the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the international arena for the first time since March.

"The white-ball series is really only to fulfill the commitment to the broadcast rights holder, for the result of both the ODI and T20I series is not going to count for anything. There are no points on offer, nor is there a prestigious Cup to be won," wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar.

The five T20Is that follow the ODIs may also not have any direct consequence, but could be a critical pointer for the T20 World Cup early next year. The two teams have been the dominating forces in recent white-ball ICC events, sharing the titles in the last three tournaments from the 2023 ODI World Cup to the 2025 Champions Trophy.

"They have to try and recoup their investment" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar further mentioned that the broadcasters' heavy investment plays the biggest role in the scheduling of most series, including the ongoing India-Australia affair. Team India is undergoing a semi-transition in ODIs, with Shubman Gill taking over as captain from the Australian series.

"The broadcasters have a huge role to play, with the viewership running up to millions. It is because of the huge amounts they buy the rights for that they have to try and recoup their investment, even if they don’t make much money out of it," said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).

The second India-Australia ODI will be played in Adelaide on Thursday, October 23. The ongoing affair is the first ODI bilateral series between the two teams since the 2023 World Cup, where the Australians beat the Men in Blue in the grand finale.