Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has blasted batting great Sunil Gavaskar after the claimed that even India’s B team can give Pakistan a run for their money. Gavaskar’s remarks came after India beat Pakistan in a one-sided Champions Trophy encounter last month. He suggested that Pakistan can’t even beat India’s B team. “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,” said Gavaskar.
However, Inzamam trashed Gavaskar’s claim, alleging that the latter once intentionally opted out of a match between India vs Pakistan during his playing days.
“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 told 24 News HD.
Whiel highlighting the all-time head-to-head stats between the two teams, Inzamam suggested that Gavaskar is ruining his legacy by making such controversial remarks.
“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,” he added.
Pakistan lead India 73 to 58 in all-time head-to-head ODI stats. However, Pakistan’s cricketing fortunes have declined, with the team finishing fifth in the last two ODI World Cups.
Gavaskar had also explained the reason behind Pakistan’s recent blues in international cricket.
“I think it’s surprising-this lack of bench strength. Pakistan always had natural talent. Natural in the sense that they may not have always been technically correct, but they had an instinctive understanding of bat and ball,” Gavaskar said.
“Look at Inzamam-ul-Haq, for example. If you look at his stance, you wouldn’t recommend that to a young batter, but he had great temperament. With that kind of temperament, he made up for any technical shortcomings.”
Even former England captain Michael Atherton had labelled current India vs Pakistan rivalry as one-sided in terms of contest.
(With PTI Inputs)
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