The Indian team is warned by Sunil Gavaskar ahead of the next series against England, calling it “the biggest whining and moaning media in sport.”

Being a man of few words, Sunil Gavaskar traditionally attacked the cricket media, particularly that of South Africa, after that country’s response to the second Test in Cape Town. He also laid the groundwork for England’s forthcoming five-Test tour of India, which begins on January 25.

In his web piece, Gavaskar discussed how media pundits and legendary cricket players from Southeast Asian nations would go to tremendous measures to justify their team’s defeats and the way the blame is distributed. He spoke about how past players, including Shaun Pollock, had criticized the pitch curators and groundskeepers at Newlands for “getting it wrong” during the second Test against India, which saw India win a historic series.

These kinds of justifications—that the curator made a mistake—are common in the nations of Southeast Asia. After the Australians lost the first two Test matches, a former captain of Australia referred to the curators’ dry pitch as “chicanery” last year. Thus, whereas their groundsmen just make mistakes, our groundsmen do it on purpose,” stated Gavaskar.

The passionate response didn’t end there. Gavaskar cheekily referred to England as the “country that has the biggest whingeing and moaning media in sport” and said that India should be prepared for similar criticism from the English media during their next series against them.

Another Test series between a nation with the largest whining and groaning media in sports will begin in around three weeks. Gavaskar said, “Anything that doesn’t suit their team will be criticized and allegations will fly thick and fast.”

He continued by making an appeal to Indian sports media outlets, saying they had to oppose such obviously biased publications and support the Indian team as well.

“It would be fantastic if our media accepted the challenge and challenged them verbatim. That would be a fight to relish just as much as the one that takes place on the field, said Gavaskar.

Is expecting that too much? We’ll find out soon enough.

A five-match Test series between India and England is scheduled to start on January 25. The series is expected to be the first serious test of England coach Brendon McCullum’s aggressive, high-intensity “Bazball” style of cricket.