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In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, former India captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar launched a scathing attack at the hype of India-Pakistan fixtures during the Asia Cup. The cricketer-turned commentator underlined that Sri Lanka have delivered a resounding reminder to the other Asian cricket-playing nations, including India after winning their sixth continental title.
"They were under the radar, weren’t they? (India and Pakistan). Because everything about the Asia Cup," Gavaskar said.
"Everyone was talking about India-Pakistan, India-Pakistan and India-Pakistan as if these were the only two teams. And when you look at the fact that Sri Lanka has won this (Asia Cup) for the 6th time, that is second only to India, it does tell you that when you talk about prospects, you must not ignore Sri Lanka. And that’s a nice tight slap that Sri Lankans have given to all those who were trying to say it’s going to be an India vs Pakistan final," the former batter said.
Dasun Shanaka's Sri Lanka defeated Babar Azam's Pakistan by 23 runs in the final and pocketed their first Asia Cup title in a decade. The Lankan Lions were slept on by most of the cricket pundits as India and Pakistan were the favourites to win the silverware, especially after Afghanistan embarrassed Sri Lanka in the first match of the competition.
Undeterred by a confidence-shattering defeat, Sri Lanka came back firing on cylinders and won all their matches remaining five matches in convincing fashion.
Gavaskar also touched upon what Team India's real goal should be heading into the T20 World Cup, a tournament the Men in Blue haven't won since winning the inaugural edition in 2007.
"I mean that should be the whole aim, it’s not just to win one match (against Pakistan) but to win the World Cup. And, obviously, beating Pakistan would be a great step forward because that gives you a lot of confidence, because then you can tackle the other teams. But I think you have got to win at least 4 out of the 5 matches because then you can qualify for the knockouts," Gavaskar opined.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to get underway in Australia on October 16 with India slated to start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23.
