Sunil Gavaskar, an Indian cricketing hero, believes that the country's current crop of cricketers should strive to create more unique celebrations rather than copying the top European players.
Gavaskar remarked on Lucknow Super Giants' Digvesh Rathi, who was punished twice by the Indian Premier League for his 'notebook' celebration, which went viral on social media in IPL 2025.
Speaking about the fine, Gavaskar agreed that the bowler should be fined, particularly in the incident involving Punjab Kings' Priyansh Arya, in which the bowler was in close contact when delivering the celebration. However, in his second penalty, he was not breaching the batter's space.
Gavaskar also discussed the influence of European football, which has led to cricketers replicating their celebrations, as do Caribbean cricketers.
Mohammed Siraj has been observed performing Cristiano Ronaldo's classic celebration, KL Rahul's shutting out the noise celebration, and many more. Some of the West Indies cricketers' original celebrations include Dwayne Bravo's trademark Champion strut.
“Now, of course, there’s coverage of the various football leagues all over the world, and the cricketers are copying the celebration style of their favourite footballers. Only the Caribbean cricketers bring their own unique celebrations, and that’s what the Indians should also look to do," he wrote in Mid-day.
Indian cricketers have shown some unique celebrations, albeit inspired by the Bollywood and South film industries. Rahul's jubilation after scoring the winning runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, or Nitish Reddy's iconic pose after reaching his first century at the MCG during the Border-Gavaskar Series.
Sunil Gavaskar further questioned whether Indian cricketers will come up with unique celebrations, saying that them copying gestures without context looks bad.
“Yes, cricket can do with something different and unique, but the celebration also needs a context. Will we see some unique fresh ones before the tournament ends?" Gavaskar concluded with a question.
