The Australian cricket fans and former cricketers are pretty happy with the fact that their team has won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but one former Australian cricketer is quite upset with the Cricket Australia.
We are talking about Michael Clarke who criticised the Cricket Australia for “missing a trick” by not inviting Sunil Gavaskar to join Allan Border in presenting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025 to Australia. With both cricketing legends present at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Michael Clarke felt it made no sense to have only Border, representing the winning nation, hand over the trophy to the Australian captain.
Sunil Gavaskar himself expressed disappointment shortly after the presentation ceremony. During an interaction, Little Master said that he would have been “happy to” present the trophy alongside his “good friend” Border, emphasising that his nationality shouldn’t have been a factor. Michael Clarke echoed this sentiment, stating that he understood why Gavaskar might feel offended by the decision.
While speaking on a show, Michael Clarke stated, “I just think Cricket Australia missed a trick. Now I know a lot of people don’t know that it was planned before the series started, that if India were to win, Sunil Gavaskar would present the trophy. If Australia were to win, Allan Border would present the trophy. So it wasn’t a surprise to those two guys. But to me, it just doesn’t make sense. Like, they’re both there. No matter who won, in my opinion, they both should have walked out, they both should have been on stage, they both should have presented the trophy.”
He further added, “I think we’re very lucky to have both Allan Border and Sunny Gavaskar in the country, commentating at the right time. You don’t get that very often. Both legends of the game that the trophy is named are still around and are in the country at the same time. So I just think we missed a trick there. I think it sounds to me that, you know, it obviously offended Sunny as well, and I can understand why. I think they both should have been on that stage presenting that trophy no matter who won.”
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Australia secured the SCG Test with a six-wicket win, clinching the series by 3-1. This marked the first time since 2017 that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy returned to Australia.
Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border share a strong camaraderie that dates back to their playing days. The series was named in their honor in 1996, recognising their historic achievements as the first two batters to surpass 10,000 runs in men’s Test cricket. Their mutual respect made the decision to exclude Gavaskar from the presentation all the more perplexing for many fans and commentators.
