Sunil Gavaskar has doubled down on his stance that Indian-owned franchises should not be signing Pakistan players.
All I am praying for is that Indians stop paying Pakistanis: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar had stirred the pot earlier this week by linking Sunrisers Leeds’ signing of Abrar Ahmed in the Hundred to “deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians”, claiming that the income tax that a Pakistan player would pay to his government would lead to buying of “arms and weapons” to be used against India.
"Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties. It’s as simple as that,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
In a conversation with Mumbai Mirror’s Amit Gupta, when asked if his commentary stints in ICC and ACC tournaments, which Pakistan play and are given their share of revenue, also play a similar role against India, he said:
“Yes, I have been on commentary panels of ICC and ACC. The revenue went to all the participating countries from the ICC and ACC, but not from an Indian entity as far as I know. I don’t understand how you can say that I am a contributor since I am not making any payment to any commentator, Indian or any other nationality.”
Also read: Sunrisers Leeds X account unbanned following suspension hours after signing Pakistan leggie
Gavaskar also doubled down his stand regarding Pakistan cricketers playing for Indian-owned franchises: “I don’t follow the CPL, ILT20 or SA20, so I am not aware who is playing for whom,” he said. “If there are Indian owners paying Pakistani players, then hopefully they will stop doing that.”
“I don’t know about other sports and what they are doing,” he added. “All I am praying for is that Indians stop paying Pakistanis. If you have noticed, the reverse has never happened for decades, if ever.”
Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim has previously played for the Kolkata Knight Riders-owned Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the ILT20. He and pacer Zaman Khan have also featured for Seattle Orcas, co-owned by Delhi Capitals part-owners GMR group, in Major League Cricket. Mohammad Amir and Usman Tariq have both previously played for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.
Gavaskar, on the other hand, was notably a guest at a Pakistan-based show during the 2025 Champions Trophy, where he shared the panel with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, but he claimed that he “did not ask nor got paid for the show in Dubai".
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