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Cricket Australia broke its silence on legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar's displeasure at not being invited to present the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gavaskar was not happy with the decision to not call him at the presentation ceremony following the fifth Test match between India and Australia. However, Cricket Australia said that Gavaskar was informed that he would have presented the award to Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah if the visitors retained the trophy. Australia clinched the trophy after 10 years and as a result, Allan Border was invited to present the trophy to the Australia captain Pat Cummins.
"We acknowledge it would have been preferable if both Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar had been asked to go on stage," a CA spokesperson said in a statement.
Border presented the trophy to the home team but Gavaskar, despite being at the venue at the same time, was inexplicably ignored.
"I certainly would have loved to have been there for the presentation. After all it is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and it is about Australia and India," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Code Sports.
"I mean, I am here on the ground. To me it should not matter that Australia won when it comes to the presentation. They played better cricket so they won. That's fine.
"Just because I am an Indian. I would have been happy to present the trophy with my good friend Allan Border," he added.
Both India and Australia have been competing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 1996-1997 and the rivalry has grown to become one of the biggest in Test cricket.
The five-match series that Australia won drew record crowds at multiple venues and broke an 87-year-old attendance record at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week.
(With PTI inputs)