In the context of Bangladesh, Gavaskar warned the ICC.

With just two days remaining before the commencement of the ICC Cricket World Cup, the political and sporting tensions surrounding the India–Pakistan match continue to escalate. The controversy began when Bangladesh was removed from its scheduled match against India and Mustafizur Rahman was excluded from the IPL. Following protests, the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament, igniting further debate. The situation has now intensified as Pakistan decided to boycott their group-stage match against India.

In this context, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has issued a stern warning to the ICC, urging the governing body to implement preventive measures for similar future crises. Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar emphasised that the ICC should reconsider its approach of placing India and Pakistan in the same group and allow tournament progress to unfold naturally through the draw system.

The India–Pakistan rivalry is steeped in decades of political tension, which historically had little direct impact on cricket. However, in the past decade, bilateral cricket relations have changed significantly. The last full bilateral series took place during the 2012–13 season, when Pakistan toured India for two T20s and three ODIs. Since then, the two nations have faced each other only in ICC or Asian Cricket Council tournaments.

Matches between India and Pakistan are highly lucrative in terms of both viewership and commercial revenue. For this reason, the ICC has traditionally tried to schedule both teams in the same group to maximise tournament interest. Yet the Bangladesh controversy—culminating in Mustafizur’s exclusion and Bangladesh’s replacement by Scotland—was perceived by Pakistan as a demonstration of double standards. This led to speculation that Pakistan might boycott the World Cup entirely. Eventually, while the Pakistani government permitted the team to participate in the tournament, the squad abstained from facing India in the group stage, leaving the debate unresolved.

Gavaskar also criticised Pakistan’s recent approach, suggesting that their performances against India have revealed vulnerabilities. He highlighted that without the India–Pakistan match, India would automatically gain two points, and contests against Pakistan would no longer require India to expend extra effort, as India has recently defeated Pakistan with relative ease.

Timeline of Key Events Leading to Controversy

Gavaskar’s intervention underscores the need for ICC to anticipate and mitigate politically sensitive situations that can compromise the integrity of the sport. He concluded that it may be time to prioritise fair tournament progression over high-profile match-ups, ensuring that cricket retains its credibility despite geopolitical pressures.