'Why blame the lower-order?' - Sunil Gavaskar urges India selectors to move on from senior players

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has seen Australia go 2-1 up in the series after the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The Australians took a lead in the ongoing series against a strong Indian side. Notably, it is the batting of the visiting team has been highlighted as the main issue behind their failure to put up a show against the Aussies.

Remarkably, the form of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has been the biggest topic of concern as the team heads into the do-or-die New Year's Test, to be played at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Meanwhile, cricketer-turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar has come forward to criticize Kohli's footwork as the main problem for getting out similarly throughout the series.

“The (Kohli's) foot is not going to the pitch of the ball, the foot is going straight down the pitch, not towards the ball. If the foot goes more towards the ball, you have more chances of hitting the ball from the middle, Because the foot is not moving, you end up reaching for the ball, and that is what has been happening," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by India Today.

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Gavaskar further put the blame on the selectors for staying loyal to the senior batters despite continuous failures. According to the legendary batter, Rohit and Virat haven't contributed enough and as a result, have failed to live up to the expectation, which should force the selectors to move on from the duo.

“It all depends on the selectors. The contributions that were expected have not come. It is the top-order which has to contribute, if the top-order is not contributing, why blame the lower-order,” the former cricketer overemphasized.

Gavaskar, who is the first batter to cross 10,000-run mark in red-ball internationals, told that the lower-middle order of the Indian side cannot at all be blamed for the shambolic loss faced against Australia in the MCG Test. He feels that draw could have been achieved without a lot of efforts, but the top-order somehow did not do their job.

“The seniors have not really made the contribution that they should have, all that they had to do was bat out today and live to fight another day in Sydney, it's just that the top order didn't contribute and that is the reason India found itself in this position," Gavaskar further added.