The legendary Sunil Gavaskar sounded visibly miffed when his broadcast partner Dinesh Karthik mentioned the upcoming tour of Australia when India are in the middle of trying to save a Test match and a potential series defeat against New Zealand on Day 2 of the second Test in Pune on Friday. As New Zealand swelled their lead over India to over 300 continue to bat the home team out of the match with every passing over, Gavaskar was irate with the idea of the five-Test series being mentioned and hogging the limelight even as Team India is playing another series at the moment.

The Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy featuring India and Australia is obviously a high-profile affair. For the first time in over 30 years, the outcome of the series will be decided over not four, but a 5-Test series starting November 22 at Perth. But while the entire world already has its eyes hooked on the tour Down Under, Gavaskar interrupted Karthik just as the former India wicketkeeper said: "There is a big series coming up against Australia as well…"

"Don't talk about Australia now. That is a mistake that a lot of people often make. You've got to worry about what's happening now. Your focus should be only on what's happening at the moment. Australia will take care of itself. When you go there, you will find the methods to beat Australia. You've done that over the last couple of trips there. You found a way," Gavaskar said on air.

"It's not the players" adds Gavaskar

The former India captain, who highlights the name of the Trophy which the two teams will play for, admitted that it's not the players but the hype generated by the media which tends to take the attention away from what's happening in the present. India are fighting tooth and nail against the BlackCaps to preserve their streak of 18 straight Test series win, but even then, there's no shortage of noise from the Australian shores, with several former Aussie cricketers showing interest in the whereabouts of the Indian team.

Gavaskar, who has previously expressed his reservation with this practice, touched upon the topic, saying if Australian players can advise the Indian team which player to pick and not, the same rule should apply on former Indian cricketers too. India vs Australia, like The Ashes, is regarded as arguably the biggest Test series in the world; however, that doesn't mean that the ongoing series against New Zealand, or any other team for that matter, should dwarf in comparison.

"It's not the players. The players are focussed on the game. It's the circle around which is the media and everybody else which is talking about Australia. There is so much of coverage about what is going to happen in Australia. The Australian players are all the time talking about the Indian team, what should be the team and all that. Pick him, pick that player. No body is asking us about the Australian team. All the former Australian players are telling us pick this guy, that guy. Ask us too who should be in the Australian team," pointed out Gavaskar.

Read Also: Mohammed Shami's plan for India return in Border-Gavaskar series revealed, set for comeback on November 6: Report

HOW DID YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE? CHOOSE YOUR EMOTICON !