As the 2026 T20 World Cup navigates a storm of diplomatic tension, legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has pulled no punches in his latest column for Sportstar. Addressing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to boycott their February 15 clash against India while participating in the rest of the tournament, Gavaskar labelled the move "baffling" and called out the "striking hypocrisy" of the global cricketing landscape.
If they felt Bangladesh had been hard done by by the ICC, they should have opted out of the entire tournament, and not just the match against India.Sunil Gavaskar
The little master pointed out that the ICC's refusal to move Bangladesh's matches was based on an independent security assessment; a moderate-to-low threat level, unlike the genuine security concerns that have historically kept India away from Pakistan.
Gavaskar dismissed the idea that India "bullies" other nations into voting with them, pointing to the voting record where even Western representatives voted against shifting Bangladesh’s matches.
In a classic critique of the "old powers," Gavaskar highlighted a double standard in how the game is officiated and analyzed:
Pitches: Dangerous "trampoline" bounce in the West is excused as weather error; turning tracks in the East are labeled "dustbowls."
Umpiring: Sub-continent mistakes are called "cheating"; Western errors are "human error."
| Year | Team | Situation | Gavaskar’s Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Australia | Refused to play in Sri Lanka due to bombings. | Understandable: Genuine safety risk. |
| 2003 | England | Refused to play in Zimbabwe (Political protest). | Silly: No security threat, just a policy disagreement. |
| 2025 | India | Refused to play Champions Trophy in Pakistan. | Justified: Known extremist threats and past incidents. |
| 2026 | Pakistan | Boycotting India game in Colombo (Solidarity). | Baffling: Selective politics on neutral ground. |
Ending on a lighter note, Gavaskar redirected the term "bullying" toward the cricket field. He hailed Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s record-shattering 175 off 80 balls in the recently concluded U19 World Cup Final.
Now, what young Suryavanshi did is bullying, and not the imaginary kind that some jaundiced people seeSunil Gavaskar