Pakistan great Inzamam-ul-Haq launched a scathing attack on Sunil Gavaskar, reacting strongly to the Indian legend's statement that Pakistan can't even beat India's B team. After India defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the Champions Trophy two Sundays ago, Gavaskar highlighted the huge gulf that has emerged between the standard of cricket played by the two nations, with the Men in Blue dominating their arch-rivals in recent matches, reports Hindustan Times.
Although Pakistan lead the head-to-head contests by a long way, they have lost to India in their last six international matches.
While Inzamam has openly criticised Mohammad Rizwan and the Pakistan team's performances, the former captain believes Gavaskar’s recent remarks went too far. Inzamam called on Gavaskar to reflect deeply on the history between India and Pakistan, alleging that the Little Master intentionally opted out of a match between the two sides in the past.
"India won the match, they played well but Mr. Gavaskar should also take a look at stats. He once fled Sharjah to escape from playing against Pakistan. He is older than us; he is our senior. We greatly respect him, but you should not speak about a country like that. Sure, you have the right to praise your team as much as you want, but commenting like this on other teams is in bad taste," Inzamam said on a local news channel.
"Tell him to look at stats, and he'll know where Pakistan is. I am deeply hurt that he gave such a statement. He was a great, respectful cricketer, but by making such comments, he is only demeaning his legacy. He should control his tongue."
Gavaskar had said, "I think a B team (from India) certainly (can give Pakistan a run for their money). C team, I am not too sure. But a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form," triggering a bit of controversy with his statement. Inzamam isn't the first to react as former Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie too had trashed Gavaskar's comments as 'nonsense'.
The Champions Trophy marked the return of an ICC event in Pakistan after 29 years when they had previously co-hosted the 1996 World Cup. However, the final result wasn't memorable as Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final, losing to New Zealand and India before the Bangladesh match in Rawalpindi was washed out. Technically, Pakistan just played one match on their home soil – the tournament opener against New Zealand in Lahore on February 19.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
