“Have you got Bangladesh back?” - Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at Pakistan for their U-turn

Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the Pakistan government and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their U-turn on the India group stage game boycott in the ongoing marquee event.

For the unversed, on Sunday, February 1, the Pakistan government initially decided its national team wouldn't take the field against India. However, it later took a U-turn after the successful talks between the ICC, PCB, and BCB.

Speaking exclusively to India Today, Gavaskar questioned the Pakistan government’s decision to boycott only India’s game when everyone participating in the campaign objected to Bangladesh’s request of shifting their games to Sri Lanka.

“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,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“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,” he added.

Furthermore, Gavaskar also took a dig at the PCB for failing to bring Bangladesh back to the showpiece tournament after the latter pulled out of the showpiece event due to security concerns in India. 

“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,” he stated.

“Why are you only skipping the India match? India is not the only one to object to Bangladesh’s request. There were 11 or 12 other countries that said Bangladesh’s matches could not be shifted to Sri Lanka, but you are still going to play them. So what are you talking about?” he concluded.

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