Sri Lanka hosting India and Pakistan won't be interesting-Gavaskar
The proposed India versus Pakistan bilateral cricket series in Sri
Lanka this month continues to be uncertain and Sunil Gavaskar feels
world cricket will lose nothing if the neighbours don't play against
each other.
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Flashback to a series where Indian players celebrate the
exit of Pakistan’s Younis Khan |
A cricket series between India and Pakistan used to be the mother of
all battles, but not anymore, Gavaskar told NDTV in an exclusive chat on
Friday.
"They (India and Pakistan) - unlike the Ashes -- haven't played
bilateral series since 2012 and before that also the contest between the
two was pretty sporadic. So, I don't think this has affected world
cricket at all," he said. Even if they did, Gavaskar feels the quality
of cricket may not be top class.
"No disrespect to the players of both teams but the excitement level
will not be very high. When Sourav Ganguly's team toured Pakistan in
2004-05 and Inzamam-ul-Haq's team came to India in 2007-08, the
excitement levels were way high because of the quality of the players in
both sides," Gavaskar said. "Once again, with absolutely no disrespect
to the current teams, I am not too sure if the clash between the two
teams would be that exciting as those two series," Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar said the Board of Control for Cricket in India must respect
the government's decision on the proposed series against Pakistan.
Last month, the BCCI had jumped the gun and announced a series in Sri
Lanka from December 15 without getting the government's nod.
This is Pakistan's turn to play host and their cricket Board has
already received government nod to play India in a five-match limited
overs series in Sri Lanka. In recent months, India and Pakistan have
differed over the venue of the series. While Pakistan were adamant that
India should play at their adopted 'home', United Arab Emirates, BCCI
wanted Pakistan to visit India.
As per a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in
2014, India and Pakistan are scheduled to play six bilateral series
between 2015 and 2023, with four series to be hosted by Pakistan.
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