Michael Clarke, Aaron Finch delivered a bold verdict on the disparagement of Sunil Gavaskar’s BGT presentation

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke criticized Cricket Australia (CA) for not including Sunil Gavaskar in the trophy presentation after the fifth Test. Michael Clarke revealed that the decision to present the Border-Gavaskar trophy was pre-planned, but added that it offended Sunil Gavaskar.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, named after legends Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border, was not presented in Sydney as expected. The trophy was to be presented by either Gavaskar or Border, depending on the winner, but Gavaskar, who was on the boundary, was not invited during the ceremony.

Allan Border presented the trophy to Australian captain Pat Cummins after Australia won the fifth Test. It was Australia’s first BGT win since the 2014-15 season. The trophy, introduced in the 1996-97 India-Australia Test series, honors Border and Gavaskar, who dominated the sport in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cricket Australia missed the trick – Michael Clarke

Speaking on ESPN’s Around The Wicket show, Michael Clarke said that CA has decided that Sunil Gavaskar will present the trophy if India win. Clarke said the plan did not come as a surprise to Gavaskar or Border but the decision did not make sense.

“I just think Cricket Australia missed a trick. Now, I know a lot of people don’t know that before the start of this year it was planned that if India won, Sunny would present the trophy. If Australia won, Alan Border would present the trophy for those two guys , but it doesn’t make sense to me,” Clarke told ESPN’s Around The Wicket.

Sounds to me like that clearly offended Sunil Gavaskar – Michael Clarke

Clarke said both Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border should have been included in the trophy presentation, regardless of the winner. Clarke felt Cricket Australia missed an opportunity by not having both legends on stage to present the trophy.

“Regardless of who won, in my opinion, both of them should have gone. Both of them should have been on stage. Both of them should have presented the trophy. I think we’re very lucky to have both AB and Sunny in the country commentating at the right time. It doesn’t you get quite often,” Clarke said.

“You know, both legends of the game that the trophy is named after are still around and in the country at the same time. Well, I think we missed a trick. I think it sounds to me like that obviously offended Sunny. Well, I can understand why both of them should have been on that stage, regardless of who won.

Whoever named the trophy should give it away – Aaron Finch

In the same video, Aaron Finch was asked if the decision was disrespectful. He agreed with Michael Clarke that Cricket Australia had missed an opportunity by not having both legends present at the ceremony.

“Yeah, and probably just an oversight. Obviously you’re looking down the track and saying, well, whoever wins it, whoever’s named after the trophy, should present it. But as Pup (Michael Clarke) said, I totally agree. Both of them should have been there, Cricket Australia definitely missed a trick,” Finch said.

Also read: Michael Clarke slams ‘extreme’ and ‘worst’ Sydney speech as ICC delivers controversial ruling