T20 World Cup 2026: ‘Have you got Bangladesh back in tournament?’ – Sunil Gavaskar slams Pakistan

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar did not hold back in his criticism of Pakistan following the controversial U-turn over their boycott stance on the match against India in the T20 World Cup 2026.

The Government of Pakistan had declared that the team will not take field in the February 15 clash in Colombo in solidarity with Bangladesh, whose request to have their matches moved out of India was rejected by the ICC. Their refusal ultimately led the ICC to replace them with Scotland.

Reacting to Pakistan’s reversal on the boycott, Gavaskar was scathing in his assessment, especially the claim of standing up for Bangladesh.

“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 legendary batter went further and questioned Pakistan’s logic and commitment, saying that if they truly wanted to support Bangladesh, they should have taken stronger action.

“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?,” he concluded.

The India vs Pakistan fixture is now confirmed to go ahead on February 15 as planned, removing uncertainty around one of the tournament’s most anticipated clashes.   

Sahibzada Farhan ‘very confident’ ahead of India clash

The Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, who played an instrumental role in his side’s victory over the USA, was very confident ahead of the much-anticipated clash.

“I am also very confident and the way the last two innings have gone, I’m very confident. It’s a normal match. We’ll play like a normal match. We won’t put it in our head that this is an India – Pakistan match, it is a normal match and we will play it like a normal match,” Farhan was quoted as saying by Zee News.

Before the Pakistan clash, the Men in Blue will take on Namibia on February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.