Pakistan’s head coach Jason Gillespie has criticized Cricket Australia and broadcasters for prioritizing the upcoming Test series against India over the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan. Pakistan’s historic 2-1 victory in the ODI series, their first in Australia since 2002, received minimal publicity, according to Gillespie.
“To be honest, I pretty much saw no promotion of our one-day series by Cricket Australia, which was a bit of a surprise,” Gillespie told the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s pretty obvious that they’re prioritizing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against India because I saw no promotion of this series.”
The Indian team will aim to secure an unprecedented third consecutive Test series victory in Australia. They previously achieved consecutive series wins in 2018-19 under Virat Kohli’s captaincy and in 2020-21 under Ajinkya Rahane.
The Test series begins with the first match in Perth on November 22, followed by a day-night encounter at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. The competition then moves to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18, before the traditional Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The concluding Test match will be played in Sydney, starting on January 3.
Gillespie’s criticism highlights the disparity in attention given to different cricket series based on the perceived importance of the participating teams. While the India-Australia Test series is highly anticipated, the Pakistan-Australia ODI series received less fanfare. This disparity can impact the morale of players and the overall perception of the sport.