Gavaskar’s Stance on Pakistan’s Refusal to Play India in T20 World Cup 2026, Harbhajan Singh Also Makes Sharp Statement

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the government have decided not to play the Cricket World Cup match against India. The Pakistan team will participate in the World Cup, but will not take part in the match against India. Sunil Gavaskar and Harbhajan Singh have reacted to this.

India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan has refused to play a match against India in the T20 World Cup 2026. The match between the two countries was scheduled to be played on February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo as per the schedule, but the Pakistani government has approved the team's participation in the tournament with certain conditions.

What Sunil Gavaskar and veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh said

There has been a stir everywhere after Pakistan's decision. In such a situation, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh have also given their reactions on this issue. Gavaskar said, "The Pakistani government has taken the decision. There are still 14 days left for the match, but if they don't want to play, it's absolutely fine. Don't play, but they will have to face the consequences. All boards sign the ICC agreement before the tournament. The ICC puts some conditions in front of the teams. All of them have to be accepted. If Pakistan does not have any solid reason that is in that agreement and is not being fulfilled, then their boycott is not right and the ICC will take legal action against them. I don't know what will happen."

ICC will take action against Pakistan

The legendary batsman further said, "I don't know what action they will take, but I think many other boards are also involved in this, so it will not be a decision of just one person. However, it should be something that ensures that no other team thinks of doing this in the future."

What Harbhajan Singh said

Harbhajan Singh said, "I think the statement that has come from the Pakistan government will not last long. There will be discussions here and there, the matter will heat up, and in the end, Pakistan will play. Earlier, it was that we would not come to India and India would not go to Pakistan, but now you have jumped into Bangladesh's mess and made this issue big. Now the ICC tournament is being harmed by this."

Pakistan will be banned

Bhajji said that, according to the rules, the ICC now had the full right to take action against them and that the issue had become one of spoiling the tournament. He said that if they chose not to play against India, they should be ready to face the consequences. He added that the ICC was not an Indian body and would impose penalties as it deemed fit. He also warned that they could be banned from international cricket, as South Africa once was. He said they had made a baseless statement while thinking about how India would react, but that it remained to be seen how the ICC would respond.