Gavaskar's calls for banning Cuttack met with angry response from the Odisha Cricket Association
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has asserted that BCCI should not allocate matches to the Barabati stadium in Odisha. The state cricket association retaliated by questioning Gavaskar’s authority on deciding the venues for matches to be played in India.
Speaking to NDTV, the former opening batsman lashed out at the local police officials for failing to control the unruly spectators during the 2nd T20I between India and South Africa. Clearly infuriated, the cricketer-turned-commentator minced no words while reacting to the unsavoury scenes during the match when a section of the crowd resorted to throwing bottles onto the field of play with India heading to a defeat.
"The police were standing there without any instructions. The police who are stationed on the boundary perimeter should not be watching cricket. But, they must be monitoring the behavior of the fans. Cuttack should not be given an international for the next couple of years. As a deterrent, the BCCI must also stop the subsidy to the Odisha Cricket Association,” Gavaskar said.
Targeting the fickle-minded Indian fans, an irate Gavaskar questioned, “Do the crowd throw valuables when the team does well? When the team does badly, the fans have no business to throw rubbish.”
The yesteryear Indian captain also felt that the players should endeavor to improve upon their performances.
"My honest advice to Indian players is not to get complacent. They must strive to get better,” he said.
Gavaskar also felt that India had got their team selection wrong as in his opinion, Amit Mishra should have played instead of Axar Patel.
“Amit Mishra could have been tried as MS Dhoni had no confidence in Axar Patel. I think Axar is being rushed into international cricket too soon,” Gavaskar said.
Odisha Cricket Association responds angrily to Gavaskar’s claims
In response, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) reminded the 66-year-old that he does not have the jurisdiction to decide the venue of any cricket match in India.
"Sunil Gavaskar is not the authority to take a decision about the venue of international cricket matches. He is just a commentator,” OCA Secretary Ashirbad Behera empathetically proclaimed, as reported by NDTV.
Play was suspended on 2 different occasions during the match on Monday. After a lengthy delay of more than 30 minutes, the Protea batsmen finally finished the formalities. But, the behavior of the crowd drew widespread condemnation from plenty of cricketers all across the world.
OCA President and former Indian team manager Ranjib Biswal assured that appropriate action would be taken against the miscreants. Regretting the incident, he implied, “Only a few unruly spectators were responsible for the incident, and 99% of people come to the stadium to see and enjoy the match.”
With South Africa having secured an unassailable lead, the final T20I will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on the 8th of October.