India Should Never Forget What The England Team Did In 2008 After 26/11 Attack, They Came Back: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has opined that cancellation of the 5th Test between England and India which was scheduled to begin on September 10 at Old Trafford, Manchester was the right thing to do.

Sunil Gavaskar stated that India should never forget the gesture of team England after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 when they came back to play.

“Yes, I think that (rescheduling the cancelled Test) would be the correct thing to do. Look, we, in India, should never forget what the England team did in 2008 after the horrific attack, the 26/11. They came back. They would have been perfectly entitled to say ‘we don’t feel safe. We are not coming back,” Sunil Gavaskar said.

Notably, the visiting team; England was participating in the One Day International game against team India in Cuttack on November 26 when terrorists attacked Mumbai, which led to the cancellation of the last two ODIs of the seven-match series.

If Kevin Pietersen had said, no I don’t want to go, that would have been the end of the matter: Sunil Gavaskar

Meanwhile, after that team, England was sent back home immediately. However, they later came back to play the two-match Test series to complete the tour. Notably, India was able to earn a victory in the series by 1-0. Sunil Gavaskar pinpointed that Kevin Pietersen was the main man and if he decided not to come back, England wouldn’t have come to play.

“Never forget that Kevin Pietersen led the team, and he was the main man. If KP had said, no I don’t want to go, that would have been the end of the matter. It was because KP was willing to go and he convinced the others, the team came and we had that fantastic Test match in Chennai where India chased 380 to win on the last day,” Gavaskar said.

BCCI and England Cricket Board (ECB) officials later announced that the match will be rescheduled at a later date as a one-off game. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar further termed the news of rescheduling of Test as fantastic news and opined that every cricket board should have healthy relations like ECB & BCCI.

“Don’t forget, the gesture of the ECB has to be remembered. “It’s absolutely apt that the BCCI now says, right next year, we are still coming to England. I think there will be a little lean period. I think the IPL will finish in early June. So there is enough time for them to go a few days early, depending on whether we still have Covid and all the restrictions and maybe play a Test match before or after,” Gavaskar said.

“This is fantastic news coming that the BCCI will make up for it. This is exactly what the relations between boards should be.”

Also Read: England Players Angry At Indian Team After Cancellation Of 5th Test, 1 Player Might Pull Out Of IPL 2021: Reports