Trip to Pak: Gavaskar to take govt advice

Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has said he will take the government's advice before deciding to attend Imran Khan's swearing-in as the next the prime minister of Pakistan.

Gavaskar, along with former skipper Kapil Dev, have been invited to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Imran, who led Pakistan to their maiden World Cup title in 1992.

"I would like to take our government's OK, take their view, opinion whether I should travel there even if there is a day when I am able to go," Gavaskar told 'India Today'.

Gavaskar is not certain as to whether he will be able to attend the ceremony as he has his other commitments.

"I just got the invite yesterday, and the invite was from his (Imran's) office, his party. An official invite in a way hasn't been there. I would like to travel but whether I would be able to travel is a different matter.

"And I say this because I have got commitments to do commentary for the second Test starting at Lord's. As of now from what I gathered the date of the swearing-in is not yet certain.

"If it is on the 15th (August) I clearly won't be able to go because it's my mother's 93rd birthday, apart from it being India's Independence Day. And the same evening I am going to England to cover the remaining three Test matches."

Critical of the way India prepared for the Test series against England, Gavaskar said lack of serious practice ahead of the Birmingham game hurt India.

Gavaskar is livid with the fact that India played only eight days of competitive cricket (3 ODIs and T20Is against England and two vs Ireland) and that too limited overs before the Test series. After the ODI series defeat, the Indian team was given a five-day break and the players spent time in Europe.

"It was no preparation at all," Gavaskar said. "I can understand that you need to switch off after a series but that can't be five days at a stretch," Gavaskar said.