Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes Pakistan could make a “U-turn” on its stance, but insisted the ICC should still initiate legal action over the country’s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup match against India on February 15.
Although no formal explanation has been provided, Pakistan’s government’s decision to deny its cricket team permission to participate in the prestigious match in Colombo is largely interpreted as a show of support for Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in India due to security concerns resulted in their elimination from the World Cup.
“I think in the next four or five days, when reactions start pouring in from across the world and even from their former players, there is a possibility that Pakistan will change their stance,” PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying on ‘India Today’.
As per a deal with the BCCI and ICC, Pakistan are scheduled to play all of their matches in Sri Lanka when the tournament begins on February 7.
“What’s new in this? We all know Pakistan cricketers retire and then, four days later, take back their retirement, saying ‘our fans told us to play more’. This might happen again,” Gavaskar said.
“Pakistan players have set examples. They keep coming back from retirement. So something like that might happen before the 15th,” he joked.
ICC action against Pakistan would be warranted, according to both Gavaskar and former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh. The international organization might, among other things, dock Pakistan’s World Test Championship points, cause them to stagnate in the ICC standings, and cause leading member countries to decline to visit.
“If Pakistan does not have a valid reason to justify withdrawing from the big match against India, or if they cannot show grounds for breaching the contract, then action will be taken by the ICC Board,” he said.
“I don’t know what action they will take, but I think there are so many other boards involved, so it’s not just going to be one person’s decision. However, it should be something that ensures no other team in the future also considers doing that.
“The ICC will probably take legal action against Pakistan over the refusal to play against India, but what the result of such an action would be, I can’t say,” he added.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan stated that Pakistan should not be exempt from the ICC’s last-minute ruling.
“They didn’t have a problem earlier. They’ve now stepped into what was Bangladesh’s issue. This decision can affect the ICC, so the ICC has every right to take legal action. It can impact the entire tournament,” he said.
