'The cricket is ordinary' - Sunil Gavaskar terms cricket's newest format The Hundred as 'insipid'

The Hundred got underway on July 21. The latest format by the England Cricket Board (ECB) has so far got mixed reviews from experts, critics and fans. While some loved the fast-paced cricket being played, others criticized the quality of cricket as poor owing to the format.

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar termed the Hundred as insipid. Known to not mince words, the 71-year-old this time too shared his honest feedback of the 100-ball format and felt some aspects of the game are not quite up to the mark. The tournament kick-started with Oval Invincibles women winning a thriller against Manchester Originals.

The Men’s game too had a fair share of close games, but Gavaskar was not impressed with it and instead felt the cricket being played is ordinary.

“Having seen it on TV, the only word that comes to mind is insipid. The cricket is ordinary and the coverage average with basic mistakes in player information which, if made in the sub-continent, would have been mocked at especially by the former England players, not to speak of the headlines that the tabloids would have generated.”

“The former players are raving about the crowds but here too as yet the fierce loyalty of the franchise fans is not seen. Maybe, the experience at the ground is different but as far as first impressions go, it’s not been a great one,” said Gavaskar to Mid-day.

Sunil Gavaskar feels the Hundred has not taken off as IPL

The former legendary batter also compared the league to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and felt it has not delivered a fantastic start like the one which was seen in the IPL when it started in 2008. The T20 league got off to a rollicking start, courtesy of Brendon McCullum’s fiery knock of 158. Since then, the IPL has been played every year and is one of the best leagues going around.

“Unlike the IPL, which was given a vertical take-off by Brendon McCullum’s incredible innings in the very first match, The Hundred hadn’t quite got that and so may take a little more time to get the hearts of the spectators,” he wrote.