Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was in no mood to mince words when a journalist asked him if the claims of former PCB chief Najam Sethi that India and the BCCI were being the bullies of world cricket were true.
This came amid growing controversy around Pakistan’s decision to boycott their marquee T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage clash against India, scheduled for February 15 in Colombo. India and Pakistan are placed in Group A of the tournament with the Netherlands, the USA, and Namibia.
Days before the competition, Pakistan declared that it would not play India in the World Cup, citing "solidarity with Bangladesh" as the reason, despite the ICC's decision to substitute Scotland for Bangladesh.
The Pakistanis are not anticipated to show up for the toss on February 15 in Colombo, but the Indian players will. With the assistance of the International Cricket Council (ICC), India is 'bullying' Pakistan and other cricketing nations, Pakistan claims.
Najam Sethi, the former head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), supported the action taken by his nation's authorities to prevent Pakistan from participating in the T20 World Cup group match against India.
He implied that the BCCI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has been "bullying" them for a while and saw Pakistan's choice as a chance to "settle the score."
Sunil Gavaskar appeared in a discussion on India Today, where anchor and senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai asked him a question on the same lines about whether India and BCCI were being bullies of the cricket world.
Gavaskar was quick to slam that claim and asked the journalist to give examples of India or the BCCI bullying other boards.
"No, we are not. Give me examples. It is the easiest thing to say that we are bullying. Everything is out there before the first ball of the tournament is bowled. Before the Champions Trophy, India had clearly said that they wouldn't go to Pakistan, so all their matches were played in Dubai. That was known long before the tournament started," said Gavaskar on India Today.
In response to Najam Sethi's charge of "bullying," Gavaskar stated that if the squad is really being harassed, Pakistan should confront India.
"I don't see where bullying comes in. I think "bullying" is a very easy word to use to look at making excuses for yourself; I don't see where it comes from. If that's the case, then stand up to the bully; the best answer is always to stand up to the bully," he added.
Furthermore, Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that it has always been India that has been inviting Pakistan, whether it is for cricket, movies, or music. He asked how many times Pakistan has invited Indian singers, actors, and other performers.
"But ask me na, the question is we are never asked; nobody from India has ever asked. That is the point I was making: that you know Pakistan always wants India to invite, but we have never heard. I am talking even before the relations got to the state that they are in today; there was hardly anything. How many of our singers, how many of our, you know, maybe film stars are invited to act in Pakistani films or even before, before, like I said, relations?" the Indian great said.
"It is always we who are making that first move; we are the ones who are always, you know, reaching out, so that is the only thing that I was saying. When we talked about this bullying and stuff like that that was going on, we are not, we are not bullying anybody; we are just minding our own business.
We have already. We started in 2008. We did have the Pakistanis playing in the IPL. I think just about every franchise has had a Pakistani player. I think we also had Pakistani commentators during the IPL," said Gavaskar.
Despite efforts from the ICC and even the Sri Lanka Cricket board, the PCB has refused to pay heed and has been rigid on their stance of not playing India in the T20 World Cup, risking severe financial penalties and even more sanctions.
