Sunil Gavaskar weighs in on pre-seeding row for the T20 World Cup Super 8s: ‘Why was this not brought up earlier?'

Here's what the former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said about the pre-seeding done for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s.

The T20 World Cup 2026 is quickly reaching its business end, and the Super 8s have already begun. The first match between Pakistan and New Zealand was abandoned due to rain in Colombo on Saturday, but the focus will soon shift to the upcoming two games - England vs Sri Lanka and India vs South Africa. However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is facing the wrath of fans on social media, as ardent supporters are making their voices heard and letting the apex body know they aren't fans of the pre-seeding for the Super 8s.

Sunil Gavaskar speaks about the pre-seeding done for the T20 World Cup. (PTI)

The pre-seeding has ensured that all the table-toppers in the group stage are clubbed in Group 1 for the Super 8s, comprising India, Zimbabwe, the West Indies and South Africa. On the other hand, the other group comprises all the teams that finished second in their respective groups: England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and New Zealand.

Amid the ongoing controversy, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar weighed in, saying there's no reason for people to ask questions now, as time has passed. He said that if people had concerns, then they should have flagged them before the start of the tournament, when the schedule was announced.

He also said that there are many logistical issues involved in organising an international tournament, which could explain the pre-seeding format.

“Why bring this up now? Why was this not brought up before the start of the tournament? Those are the questions that need to be asked of the people who are raising these points now. The reason that I can think of, maybe the ICC can explain it better, is that the logistics, the tournament is being played in two countries, ” Gavaskar told India Today.

“There's international travel, there's immigration, and there's customs, all those things to be taken care of. There is still the question of airline and hotel bookings; not every team travels with the same number of people. Some teams travel with a support staff team of 15, so maybe they need 35-40 rooms. Some teams may travel with 20-22 people altogether, so they may need fewer rooms. All these things need to be taken into account, and perhaps this is the reason why the pre-seeding took place,” he added.

‘Pre-seeding explained’

Before the T20 World Cup even began, the ICC assigned fixed slots for both Super 8s groups. The pre-seedings were done well before the tournament began, based on the rankings of the top eight teams in T20Is.

South Africa were the table toppers in Group D, but they were treated as a lower seed in the seeding because New Zealand was assigned a higher rank.

Across the different sports, the global events' formats are formed to ensure that the group winners are rewarded but this latest format created by the ICC will do the contrary as two of the best teams in the group stage would be knocked out in the Super 8s, considering all table toppers are clubbed together (India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies).

Fans of Sri Lanka are the most vocal, voicing their concerns against the format. Despite playing their group stage matches in Sri Lanka, the Island nation might have to play their semi-final in India if they make it to the last four.