Sunil Gavaskar's Blunt Message To ICC After Pakistan Announce India Boycott At T20 World Cup

The Pakistan government has decided that its national cricket team will participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, but the side will boycott its match against India. Pakistan were scheduled to face the Suryakumar Yadav-led side in Colombo on February 15. The country announced its decision on Sunday. It has come following the International Cricket Council's verdict on the Bangladesh issue. Bangladesh wanted their T20 World Cup matches to be shifted out of India in the wake of Mustafizur Rahman's exit from the Indian Premier League. Pakistan supported Bangladesh's cause but the ICC denied the request, which eventually led to the latter team being replaced by Scotland.

A week after the ICC decision, Pakistan has shown its unwillingness to play against India. Reacting to the decision, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that the apex cricket board should take some action against Pakistan, making sure that nothing like that happens in future.

"Definitely, I think if you withdraw at the last moment, that is an issue. If you withdraw earlier on, that's another matter altogether. But if you withdraw at the last moment, on the eve of the tournament, then yes, I think certainly the ICC should come in and take some action. I don't know what action they will take, but I think there are so many other boards involved, so it's not just going to be one person's decision. However, it should be something that ensures no other team in the future also considers doing that," Gavaskar told India Today.

Gavaskar even said that the ICC is likely to take 'legal action' over Pakistan's stand, but what the consequences afterwards would be, can't be said.

"The ICC will probably take legal action against Pakistan over the refusal to play against India, but what the result of such an action would be, I can't say. It is certain that the ICC would be extremely displeased with this decision of Pakistan government," he further said. 

Pakistan are in Group A of T20 World Cup 2026, placed with India, Namibia, USA and the Netherlands.

Interestingly, the decision from Pakistan came at a time on Sunday when their U19 team was playing against India in a crucial Super Six match at the U19 World Cup 2026 in Bulawayo.

In the clash, India U19 outplayed Pakistan U19 by 58 runs to eliminate the side and set up a semi-final clash with Afghanistan U19.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Sunil Gavaskar