“I don’t know, ask Cricket Australia,” was Sunil Gavaskar’s crisp reply when asked about his absence from the presentation ceremony at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
For the presentation of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, only former Australia cricketer Allan Border was on the stage as Gavaskar continued to watch proceedings with the rest of his broadcast colleagues.
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Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement later that it “would have been preferable if both had been together” without offering a reason as to why they were not.
“We acknowledge it would have been preferable if both Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar had been on the stage,” said the statement.
Australia beat India in the fifth Test to win the series 3-1 and get their hands on the trophy after a 10-year gap.
Gavaskar, doing commentary duties for multiple platforms, was at the venue and left only after everything was completed – well after 5pm local time.
Clearly schedule and availability wasn’t a concern and it remains to be seen what the Australian cricket board will have to say about ignoring a legendary cricketer.
When the presentation was underway, he was just metres away from action and stood under the umbrella with former India cricketer Irfan Pathan and presenter Jatin Sapru.
Shortly after completing the broadcast commitments, he made his way to the media box and changed into casual clothing before making his way out of the venue.
