Sunil Gavaskar slams Nasser Hussain for his 'down to earth' comment on Indian team from 80s and 90s

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar slammed the former England captain Nasser Hussain for his remarks on the Indian cricket team of the 90s and 80s. He also criticized Hussain for saying on a television show that the Indian side got tougher when Sourav Ganguly captained them.

A few days back, Nasser had said that the Indian team before Sourav Ganguly was very down to earth, and playing against them was a pleasant experience. Also, there was a lack of competitive spirit while playing against the team of the 90s and 80s. However, the former England cricketer believes that the inclusion of Ganguly in the team made the Indian side feisty and passionate about the game.

Showering praises on the Kolkata-based star, Hussain said that Sourav had an aggressive outlook towards the game which helped the Indian team in winning at home and abroad. These statements by the England cricketer didn’t go well with Sunil Gavaskar. He slammed Nasser saying that if someone is not swearing, fighting, or shouting, it doesn’t mean that they are weak.

“Nasser went on to say that earlier, the team would be wishing the opposition good morning and smiling at them etc. See this perception: That if you are nice then you are weak. That unless you are in the face of the opposition, you are not tough. Is he suggesting that Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh to name just a few were not tough? That just because they went about their business without any chest-thumping, swearing, screaming and pumping their arms in obscene gestures, they were weak?” Gavaskar wrote in his fortnightly column published in mid-day on Sunday.

“And what does he know of the toughness of the teams in the ’70s and ’80s which won overseas as well as at home to make that statement? Yes, Ganguly was a top captain, taking over the reins at a most delicate time in Indian cricket, but to say that earlier teams were not tough is nonsense,” he added.

“Why does everything negative have to do with the word black?” questions Sunil Gavaskar

The cricketer turned commentator also expressed his disappointment over the TV hosts and other people present on the show with Nasser. He said that the TV guys should stand up against someone who questions our cricket history. He added that it is time that we should change this perception that if we are too nice, then we are not tough.

The 71-year-old also praised Michael Holding for his passionate and powerful oration on racism on the first day of the Test match between England and West Indies after an unwanted break of 117 days. In his column, Gavaskar highlighted that every negative word has an inclusion of the word black in it like blackmail, blacklist which brainwashes the mind of people regarding the black race.

“Why does everything negative have to do with the word black? Blackmailed, blackballed, blacklisted to give just three examples. I am sure readers smarter than me will come up with more such examples, but this is just to show the influence, which I believe the modern word is for brainwashing,” wrote Gavaskar