Sunil Gavaskar shreds Pakistan over T20 boycott: It's always us reaching out
Sunil Gavaskar has called out Pakistan's repeated expectation of India making the first move in cricketing ties. The Indian legend said invitations and gestures have rarely been reciprocated, especially amid the latest India–Pakistan World Cup boycott row.
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has flagged what he believes is a long-standing imbalance in how India and Pakistan approach sporting and cultural exchanges. Gavaskar said Pakistan cannot keep expecting India to always extend invitations first when the gesture is rarely returned.
Speaking to India Today in an exclusive interview, Gavaskar pointed out that India has historically opened its doors to Pakistani participation, whether through the IPL or broadcast panels, while Pakistan has seldom reciprocated the same warmth.
Watch the video:
“Well, we already have. We started in 2008, and we did have Pakistani players in the IPL. I think just about every franchise had a Pakistani player. We also had Pakistani commentators. Pakistan always wants India to invite them, but we’ve never really seen the same in return, even before relations reached the state they are in today. There was hardly anything, " Gavaskar said.
"How many of our singers, how many of our film stars, are invited to act in Pakistani films? It’s always us making the first move. We are the ones always reaching out. When we talk about bullying and all that, we are not bullying anybody. We are just minding our own business," he added.
Why is the IND vs PAK match facing boycott threat?
Gavaskar’s remarks come 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. Gavaskar has consistently criticised the move, suggesting it is driven more by politics than sport.
Pakistan announced days before the tournament that while it would participate in the World Cup, it would not take the field against India, citing “solidarity with Bangladesh” after the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland.
The ICC responded sharply, warning that selective participation undermines the basic principles of a global tournament. With the India–Pakistan fixture considered cricket’s biggest commercial draw, its potential absence could result in major losses for broadcasters and sponsors.
What is the tension between India and Pakistan?
Relations between the two nations have remained strained since the Pahalgam terror attack, with bilateral cricket suspended for over a decade and Pakistan players continuing to remain absent from the IPL ecosystem. Beyond cricket, Pakistani actors and singers have also been barred from association with Indian projects.
Ironically, Gavaskar himself was recently part of “The DP World Dressing Room” during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, a show anchored by Pakistani presenter Fakhr-e-Alam and featuring greats such as Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq and Ajay Jadeja.
Gavaskar has also previously been invited to former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony in 2018, though he later declined the invitation.
As the World Cup begins, India face the USA in Mumbai while Pakistan take on the Netherlands in Colombo. Yet uncertainty continues to hang over whether the sport’s most watched rivalry will actually play out on February 15.
T20 World Cup | T20 World Cup Schedule | T20 World Cup Points Table | T20 World Cup Videos | Cricket News | Live Score