‘Better late than never’ - Sunil Gavaskar criticizes BCCI's delay in honoring late Dattajirao Gaekwad

Team India decided to wear black armbands on Day 3 of their third Test clash against England in Rajkot in memory of the late former Indian skipper Dattajirao Gaekwad. The 95-year-old passed away in his hometown of Baroda, and statistically, he was the oldest living Indian Test cricketer since the death of Deepak Shodhan in 2016.

Gaekwad passed away on February 13, and since it took three days for the Indian team to pay tribute to his memory, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was livid over such a delayed response.

"Team India will be wearing black armbands in memory of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer who passed away recently," the BCCI released a statement ahead of Day 3 of the third Test. 

Unhappy with the situation, Gavaskar called out the BCCI and opined that it should have been done on the first day of the clash itself. He did say that it was better late than never.

"Better late than never... they should've done it on Day 1 but better late than never, He was captain of the Indian team in a five-match series. He captained four out of the five matches and the other one was captained by Pankaj Roy," Gavaskar said on commentary. 

It is worth noting that the BCCI did post a message in Gaekwad’s memory hours after his passing. "The BCCI expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India's oldest Test cricketer. He played in 11 Tests and led the team during India's Tour of England in 1959. Under his captaincy, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the 1957-58 season, beating Services in the final. The Board expresses its heartfelt condolences to Gaekwad's family, friends, and admirers," the BCCI stated.

The late great cricketer played 11 Tests for the Indian team, where he amassed 350 runs to his name. Furthermore, under his leadership, Baroda also won the Ranji Trophy in the 1957-58 season, beating Services in the final.