Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar strongly criticized Pakistan over their recent decision regarding the match against India in the T20 World Cup 2026.
The Government of Pakistan previously announced that their team would not participate in the February 15 match in Colombo to support Bangladesh, which had requested that its matches be moved from India. This request was denied by the ICC, resulting in Bangladesh being replaced by Scotland.
In response to Pakistan’s change of heart, Gavaskar expressed doubt about their claims of supporting Bangladesh.
“They claimed to stand with Bangladesh. However, since Bangladesh was not allowed to play their matches in Sri Lanka, it doesn’t make sense to say you supported them. Bangladesh is no longer in the tournament. Given the circumstances, the ICC was unlikely to penalize Bangladesh or withhold their appearance fee due to the last-minute nature of the situation,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Gavaskar went on to challenge Pakistan’s commitment, suggesting that if they genuinely wanted to help Bangladesh, they should have taken more decisive action.
“You might have secured Bangladesh’s share of the revenue, but did you get them back into the tournament? No. If you really supported Bangladesh, you would have opted out of the entire tournament. Why only skip the India match?” he concluded.
The India vs Pakistan match is confirmed to take place on February 15, eliminating any doubts about this major event in the tournament.
Sahibzada Farhan ‘very confident’ ahead of India clash
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, who played a crucial role in his team’s victory over the USA, expressed confidence before the upcoming match.
“I feel confident, especially given how the last two innings went. This is just a normal match for us. We won’t think of it differently just because it’s India – Pakistan; we will treat it like any other match,” Farhan said, according to Zee News.
Before facing Pakistan, the Indian team will play against Namibia on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
