‘Your salaries come from what India brings to cricket’: Sunil Gavaskar tells to ‘ignore’ Hussain, Atherton's ‘moaning’

Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton were the first to openly bring "India's undeniable advantage" in Champions Trophy 2025 into discussion. Pakistan interim coach Aaqib Javed did briefly touch it after their group-stage defeat to India in Dubai but it was Hussain and Atherton's discussion that really gave rise to raging debate. Since then, Australia's injured skipper Pat Cummins and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen have called the scheduling of the Champions Trophy "a huge advantage to India". The reaction from India has been sharp. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar(PTI)

After former India opener, Wasim Jaffer jibed at the critics by saying that India should have changed hotels in Dubai to stop people from complaining, legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar said certain people should stop moaning and instead focus on their own team's performance.

Taking a swipe at England for getting knockout out of the Champions Trophy after losing to Australia and Afghanistan, Gavaskar advised Hussain and Atherton to "focus on their backyard". "I think these are all wise and experienced people. Why don't you actually look at why your team has not qualified? That's what I was going to ask you, sir. Rather than constantly focusing on India, are you even looking at your own backyard? Your players are in such a fragile mental state-they don't seem to care about results as long as they meet certain expectations," Gavaskar told India Today.

"You must care about results. You must care for your country, for any team you play for. If you are playing for your country, the responsibility is even greater. All the time, they are moaning -- 'India has got this, India has got that.' It's constant. We must just ignore it. Let them keep mourning. We have better things to focus on. That is the kind of attitude you must have.

‘Your salaries depend on India’s earnings': Gavaskar to Hussai, Atherton

India is the only team playing all its matches at the same venue (Dubai) in the Champions Trophy because its government did not allow it to travel to Pakistan. Hussain, Atherton and others have said it has given them a distinctive advantage over other teams who are changing venues, travelling and trying to get accustomed to different conditions.

For the record, England lost both their matches at the same venue (Lahore). They will only travel to Karachi for the final group-stage match against South Africa. There were other teams like Australia and Afghanistan who have played two out of their three group games at one venue. Singling out India for reasons that were beyond ICC and their cricket board makes little sense, especially because there are no options but to host the tournament in a hybrid format as an ICC event without India would have been unimaginable.

Gavaskar highlighted India's contribution to world cricket in terms of quality and revenue and had no qualms in reminding the former cricketers that a big part of their salaries also depends on the revenue that India generate

"As I said before, it's not even worth commenting on. It really isn't. They are always moaning. They just cannot seem to understand where India stands in international cricket-in terms of quality, income, talent, and, more importantly, in terms of generating revenue. India's contribution to global cricket-through television rights and media revenue-plays a massive role. They need to understand that their salaries also come from what India brings to the world of cricket," Gavaskar added.

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