Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticized the Indian team after the recent 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Kaif shared a video on his social media platform ‘X’ on Sunday where he labeled India as “white-ball bullies”, expressing concerns over the team’s struggles in Test cricket.
He emphasized that the defeat should serve as a wake-up call for India, urging the team to prioritize Test cricket and improve their performance on challenging turns and twisty tracks if they are to succeed in the World Test Championship (WTC) going forward.
“This 1-3 defeat should be a wake-up call. We need to pay more attention to Test cricket. It is not just Gautam Gambhir who is to blame. All players are equally guilty of this. Every player gets a chance to play Ranji Trophy but it gets tiring for the players and they prefer to skip it. They don’t play the Ranji Trophy; they don’t play practice matches. So how will they become better players? And WTC will continue to elude you,” said Kaif.
“I’m telling you the truth. Whatever happened was right. Now it’s time to work on our Test cricket,” he added.
He also stated that the defeat would soon be forgotten if India managed to defeat Pakistan in the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash next month.
The marquee match between India and Pakistan is scheduled for Sunday, February 23, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
“After defeating Pakistan on February 23, you will get all the credit,” he said.
“Everyone will say that we are a white-ball champion team. But if India wants to win the World Test Championship (WTC), we need to build a strong Test team. We have to learn to play on curved tracks; in Australia we will have to learn to play in sewing conditions. The truth is, we’re just white-ball bullies. We are very late,” he added.
The former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain emphasized the importance of domestic cricket in improving India’s Test performance.
“If we want to win the WTC, the players will have to give importance to domestic cricket. They need to play on the turning lanes; they will have to practice on the sewing tracks; otherwise, we won’t be able to win,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that Australia ended their decade-long drought by reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 3-1 series win, their first since the 2014-15 edition.
The victory, sealed in the afternoon session of Day 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), also secured Australia’s place in the WTC final for the second time in a row.
They will face South Africa for the prestigious title at Lord’s on June 11, 2025.
