Indian cricket maestro Sunil Gavaskar minced no words while penning a strongly-worded column on India's humiliating 2-3 defeat in the T20I series against West Indies.
Drawing a comparison between playing at the Under-19 or franchise level, and representing India on the international stage, Gavaskar wrote, 'A player could do well at the franchise level, but when it comes to playing for the country, it’s a different ball game of pressures and expectations.'
He called the step up to international standards a rise too steep for even the best of franchise players.
Without taking names of cricketers, he questioned, 'How often have we seen this when the Under-19 performers just aren’t able to take that one step up from a boys’ tournament to a men’s competition?'
The former India captain delved deeper into his analysis with an analogy.
'Yes, the kids look great playing against kids, but when they come up against the men, they suddenly find that what looks like a piece of cake at the under-19 level is more like mud at the senior level,' he wrote further.
According to him, it’s not just the temperament; even the skill set is way below the standard required at the franchise level.
But as much as he critiqued the team for underperforming, he also had some words of encouragement for them.
Calling the West Indies a top-class T20 team, he said, 'The loss to West Indies should not be a dampener. Don’t forget that they have won the ICC T20 World Cup twice, and their players are matchwinners for the different franchises they play for in the IPL. '
He presented a different point of view to look at the loss, 'There’s no shame in losing to them. It should be a wake-up call, though, to see the areas where India needs to improve to strengthen its side.'