Sunil Gavaskar Slams Pakistan: "Have You Got Bangladesh Back In T20 World Cup 2026?"
On Monday, Pakistan took a U-turn from its stance of not playing the February 15 T20 World Cup 2026 match against India.
- Pakistan, on Monday, reversed its decision to boycott the February 15 T20 World Cup match against India
- "Have you got Bangladesh back into T20 World Cup? You haven't," Sunil Gavaskar said while slamming Pakistan
- "If you really stood with Bangladesh, you should have also opted out of the entire tournament," he added
On Monday, Pakistan took a U-turn from its stance of not playing the February 15 T20 World Cup 2026 match against India. The Pakistan government had earlier directed its players to "boycott" that game as a show of solidarity with Bangladesh, who wanted their matches to be shifted out of India, but the ICC rejected their plea. Bangladesh's reluctance to travel to India saw the apex cricket council replacing them with Scotland. While Bangladesh got eliminated, the Pakistan government decided to make its players skip the India match.
Reacting to the U-turn, cricket legend and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at Pakistan.
"They said that they stood with Bangladesh. Because Bangladesh was not allowed to have its matches in Sri Lanka, how can you say that you have stood with them? Bangladesh is out of the tournament. Because of these special circumstances, the ICC was never going to withhold Bangladesh's appearance money or penalise it. I don't think that could have happened because it was such a last-minute situation," Gavaskar told India Today.
The former India batter added that Pakistan should have opted out of the tournament instead if they truly wished to stand with Bangladesh.
"To say that you have helped Bangladesh get their share of the pie-sure, you might have got them their share of the pie. But have you got them back into the tournament? You haven't. If you really stood with Bangladesh, you should have also opted out of the entire tournament. Why are you only skipping the India match? India is not the only one to object to Bangladesh's request. There were 11 or 12 other countries that said Bangladesh's matches could not be shifted to Sri Lanka, but you are still going to play them. So what are you talking about?" he added.
India are set to take on Pakistan on February 15 in a T20 World Cup Group A match in Colombo.
India Cricket Team
Bangladesh Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team
Sunil Gavaskar