"What Vaibhav Suryavanshi Did Is Bullying": Sunil Gavaskar's Multi-Layered Reply To Nasser Hussain Over 'ICC' Jibe

T20 World Cup Boycott Row: Pakistan's late tantrum over boycotting the February 15 T20 World Cup match against India has created an untoward scene in world cricket. Negotiations are on so that the "costliest" match in world cricket takes place, but in the backdrop of Pakistan's drama, narratives and counter-narratives have been coming in thick and fast. Former England captain Nasser Hussain gave a rather intriguing observation on the whole saga, wondering whether the world cricket body - the ICC - was being fair.

What Did Nasser Hussain Say

"If India, a month before a tournament, said, 'Our government does not want us to play in a country for a World Cup,' would the ICC have been so firm and said, 'You know the rules, bad luck, we're knocking you out?'" Hussain asked on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. "The only thing all sides ask for is consistency. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India must be treated the same. Yes, India fans may say, 'Cry more, we have the money!' But with power comes responsibility," the former England captain said in the podcast.

Now, Gavaskar has taken an indirect jibe at Hussain. "There are some others, especially from the old powers, for whom India replacing them as the power centre in the world game has never gone down well. They were quick to join the noise and ask whether, if India had decided not to play in a country, the ICC would have accepted their position or thrown them out of the tournament," Gavaskar wrote in Sportstar.

Gavaskar's Counter-Logic

"Well, India did say they were not going to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy last year, and the ICC arranged their fixtures in a neutral country, the UAE. India had, however, given notice of their intention not to play in Pakistan long before even the draw was made and the venues were fixed. Every sane person in the world knows there is no way any government in India is going to allow its cricketers to go to Pakistan."

He went on to give the example of the 2003 World Cup, when England refused to tour Zimbabwe in protest against Robert Mugabe's regime. "In the 2003 World Cup, England refused to play in Zimbabwe, perhaps because they did not like the face of the then President Robert Mugabe announcing his policies. What a silly excuse. There was no security threat to them or anything, yet they chose to stay away and forfeit their points. Did the ICC do anything? No. Because at that stage, the English and Australian boards ruled the roost, and the others did not want to upset them," he wrote.

Gavaskar even cheekily brought up the example of Vaibhav Suryavanshi to drive home his point.

"The hypocrisy is striking, just as it is now. Even their representative in the ICC voted against Bangladesh, but the blame is only on the BCCI as the bully," Gavaskar said, referring to the ICC Board voting, where except for Pakistan and Bangladesh, everybody else voted against moving the Litton Das-led team's matches to Sri Lanka - as the Bangladesh Cricket Board had demanded.

"In the just-concluded final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed 175 off only 80 balls against England and single-handedly took the game away from his opponents. To England's credit, they responded well and also got to 311 in reply to the Indian colts' 411.

Now, what young Suryavanshi did is bullying - and not the imaginary kind that some jaundiced people see."

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