Gavaskar told NDTV on Tuesday that the England team would have looked at various options if, hypothetically, the team was in the sub-continent during riots here. "No question about it. They (the England team) would have been pressing the panic button. They would have been talking in terms of the team returning home. That is a given."
Watch: Gavaskar's views
Gavaskar reasoned that even in terms of wickets, the England team always complain regardless of their manner of preparing pitches. "They say (in India) that these are pitches prepared for spinners. They can prepare a green pitch and it will not matter. They are entitled to do everything, the others aren't," he said with an element of sarcasm.
The veteran batsman-turned-cricket commentator however said that the players of both teams have been affected by the riots because they care for people.
Earlier in the day, skipper MS Dhoni had said that the riots were unfortunate but his team was focusing on cricket only. (Read report here)