'How does a team learn to take 20 wickets?' - Sunil Gavaskar slams domestic cricket format

Sunil Gavaskar has raised concerns about the structure of domestic cricket in India, pointing to the Duleep Trophy 2026 final as an example of how the current format prevents teams from developing the skills needed to take 20 wickets in Test matches. East Zone posted 708 in their first innings, with Ishan Kishan scoring 270, before South Zone was bowled out for 336. East Zone then batted for another 100 overs in their second innings to score 388 runs for 7 wickets.

The match ended by mutual agreement between the captains before the scheduled conclusion, a decision that prompted Gavaskar's criticism of the domestic format. According to Gavaskar, the structure of first-class cricket in India does not encourage teams to complete full two-innings contests, which he believes is essential for developing bowling skills at the highest level.

"The disappointing part was that East Zone did not go for an outright win and instead prolonged their second innings unnecessarily. That both skippers agreed to end the game earlier than scheduled also doesn’t sit well. If the game was to be stopped early, then why wasn’t it stopped at lunch time itself, when it was clear that in the two sessions remaining, South Zone was never going to chase down a score more than 650 runs," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

"This business of the first innings lead being enough, is one of the main reasons India struggle to take 20 wickets on good pitches. How does a team learn to take 20 wickets if they don’t bowl in two innings in a domestic game? India huffed and puffed on the last day of the second Test in Sri Lanka and couldn’t take the last four wickets for a victory," he added.

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Gavaskar Stresses Need for Second-Innings Experience

India's two-match Test series against Sri Lanka saw the team miss a clean sweep. Sri Lanka batted out more than 81 overs in their second innings and finished on 429 for 9 wickets, denying India the victory on the final day. This performance highlighted the challenges India faced in taking wickets under pressure on good pitches.

"Just like it takes time for a batter to learn how to go from 20 and 30 to a half-century and from 70 and 80 to a century, so also understanding how to get 10 wickets in the second innings takes time. There’s the question of stamina, of course, for after four days of tense cricket, not just the physical but the mental stress also can be too much," Gavaskar wrote.

"And the one way to learn how to deal with that is at the first-class level. But, if a team that has taken a huge first innings lead is simply not interested in being on the field again, then how does one get the experience?," he added.