Against this backdrop, in a column for Sportstar, Gavaskar hailed Padukone as the “finest sportsperson that India has produced”. Following this, Gavaskar went on to show his support for Padukone stating that the Indian contingent is good at making excuses and that if it were a discipline at the Olympics they would have a gold medal.

Gavaskar said that the comments made by Padukone that today’s players get “all the backing and facilities from their Federations and the government too. Therefore, they should take responsibility for their performances,” was “a point well-made and well-articulated”. He also added that the comment did not point fingers at anyone.

“Our country, which again is a champion at reading between so-called lines and imagining unintended poisoned arrows, we were quick to jump on him and denounce his comments,” Gavaskar wrote criticising the the backlash Padukone faced.

He also went on to say that Sen had lost his concentration in the way during the last two matches and called him “garden mein ghoomne wala”, a phrase used before by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma.

In the column, he also hailed PR Sreejesh for his contributions to helping India win the bronze in hockey and said that his “determination, doggedness and never-say-die spirit rubbed off on his teammates”.