England players in IPL 2024: The England cricket team players have been under intense scrutiny from both fans and experts following their dismal performance in the five-match Test series against India, resulting in a 4-1 defeat.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar was blunt in his assessment of England's 'superiority complex', emphasizing that India's series victory over England is particularly gratifying given this attitude.
"What a walloping, what great fun to watch a young India team demolish an England team that had arrived in India with the usual 'we are doing you a favour' attitude that brings a smirk on the faces of those Indian officials who go to receive them at various airports," Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.
Gavaskar implied that the verbal altercations, sledging, and finger-pointing attitude exhibited by England players might be linked to their lack of success in the IPL. Several England players, including Heather Knight in the Women's IPL (WPL), as well as Jason Roy and Harry Brook in the IPL, have withdrawn at the last minute, citing personal reasons.
"That is also the reason why the England and Indian players get into verbal skirmishes so often when they are playing against each other. Not a lot of England players are picked in the IPL, mainly because they can be withdrawn by their Board anytime for a preparation camp or something, which leaves the franchises in a lurch," he mentioned in his column for Sportstar.
"Some of them can't stomach the fees for which some of the Indian players are bought and compare their achievements at the international level when the IPL auction dynamics can be so volatile and hard to explain or even understand. So you see more lip in the India-England encounters than in any other India match. That's why the pleasure of beating England is always greater."