"I am not making any...": Sunil Gavaskar breaks silence for making appearance on Pakistani TV during CT 25

Former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar was branded a hypocrite when he himself appeared on a panel alongside Pakistani cricketers but banned Indian-owned teams from investing in players of Pakistani origin in various franchise T20 leagues.

Former Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar reflected on the Sunrisers Leeds franchise buying Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed at the auction table of The Men's Hundred. The team is owned by the Sun TV network, which is the owner of the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad as well.

He had voiced his disapproval of Pakistani players being signed by the Indian-owned franchises in the 2026 auction of The Hundred. This was the first-ever auction conducted in the competition, which featured teams owned by Indian tycoons.

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Sunil Gavaskar issues a massive clarification after being tagged a hypocrite

Sunil Gavaskar was seen sitting on a guest panel of a Pakistani cricket show during the 2025 Champions Trophy, alongside former Pakistan captains Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. He has, for the first time, found himself at the receiving end of a controversy.

Gavaskar had appeared on a Pakistani cricket show, 'The Dressing Room,' during CT 2025 in Dubai. However, the former Indian cricketer, while clarifying his stance, said, “I did not ask nor got paid for the show I did in Dubai.”

Responding to criticisms, Gavaskar 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,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.

Sunil Gavaskar asks Indian owners to release Pakistani players from their teams in other franchise leagues

Not only in The Hundred, but also Pakistan players have featured in former T20 franchise leagues like the Caribbean Premier League and the Major League Cricket in the West Indies and America, respectively.

However, the former Indian star claimed that he doesn't follow any of these leagues, but he believes that if players of Pakistani origin are picked, they should be snubbed.

“I don’t follow the CPL, ILT20, or SA20, so I am not aware who is playing for whom. Yes. If there are Indian owners and they are paying Pakistani players, then hopefully they will stop doing that. I don’t know about other sports and what they are doing. All I am praying for is that Indians stop paying Pakistanis. If you have noticed, the reverse has never happened for decades, if ever,” the Indian legend pointed out.

Gavaskar had earlier tagged Indian owners anti-nationalists for investing in India's destruction

The furore that was created by the acquisition of the Pakistan spinner in the Hundred by Sunrisers Leeds was not deemed as surprising by the former Indian captain, as he pointed out Pakistan's atrocities against India over the years. Since the 2008 Taj attack, Pakistani players have been sidelined from the IPL.

Sunil Gavaskar had formerly claimed that the money paid to these cricketers would be collected in the form of taxes by their government, and they would be using that money to fund the buying of weapons that could lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent lives in India.

He had claimed that it simply would mean that investing in Pakistani players simply means that the Indian owners are indirectly contributing to the casualties in India.

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