T20 World Cup 2026: ICC faces severe criticism for the India vs Pakistan match
Former Indian captain & legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar lambasted the ICC for keeping India and Pakistan in the same group in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. For the last couple of years, the two Asian giants were kept in the same group in the ICC & ACC events. Last time, when two teams were kept in a different group, that was the 2011 ODI World Cup. Following this, both teams were kept in the same group in every major event. For this match, fans have extraordinary excitement. The ICC also takes every chance to benefit from the match's huge worldwide viewership and ticket sales.
Even lower-ranked teams are placed in the same group as both teams to ensure they can easily advance to the next round and potentially face each other in a further stage. Gavaskar also mentioned the same thing and stated that an easy group will give India and Pakistan a better chance of progressing to the next round. In the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, India and Pakistan were kept in Group A along with the USA, Namibia, and the Netherlands.
“As always in recent World Cups, India and Pakistan are not only placed in the same group to ensure at least one clash between the traditional rivals but are also invariably put in a fairly easy group to qualify for the next round. So the real battle could well start from the following stage of the tournament," Gavaskar said.
Well, Pakistan is an unpredictable team. On its day, they can beat any big giants. However, they might lose to any weaker team in the very next game. In the previous edition of the T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan lost their opening game against the USA in a super over. Following this, they lost against India while chasing just 120 runs. After 2 consecutive defeats, Pakistan was eliminated from the World Cup.
Sunil Gavaskar further praised the USA team and their recent achievements, saying that this team has improved significantly over the past few years. USA cricketers have benefited from dressing room experience with the senior players in franchise cricket.
“We saw the USA beat Pakistan in the last edition of the ICC T20 World Cup when they were co-hosts with the West Indies. They have since improved with experience and by rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the world in Major League Cricket," wrote Gavaskar.
“The best part of these leagues is that they help to get rid of the awe factor that players from emerging countries often feel towards some of the big names in the game. Sharing dressing rooms with them, seeing how they prepare, and seeing how they deal with failure are things that cannot be taught in any university. That first-hand experience is what helps to drive their individual games forward," he added.
