Sunil Gavaskar calls for football-style divisions in international cricket

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has proposed creating football-style divisions in international cricket to differentiate statistics set in lopsided matches from those achieved between top nations. Writing in his Mid-Day column, Gavaskar argued that it is unfair to equate records set against emerging ICC Associate nations with performances between Full Member sides, citing extreme low totals like Mongolia's recent 13-run dismissal against Thailand.

Gavaskar also questioned records like Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee surpassing Yuvraj Singh's fastest T20I fifty during a match against Mongolia. Furthermore, Gavaskar suggested implementing a similar distinction for India's domestic Ranji Trophy, arguing that records achieved in the Plate Group against weaker competition should not overshadow accomplishments in the Elite division.