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Sunil Gavaskar wonders whether stats from mismatched games involving ICC Associate members should count for official records.
Dipendra Singh Airee (left) and Sunil Gavaskar (Agencies)
Do you know which team holds the record for the highest innings total in menтАЩs T20Is? ItтАЩs Zimbabwe, with 344/4 against Gambia. Incidentally, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Zimbabwe also holds the record for the biggest margin of victory by runs, having secured a whopping 290-run win in the same match against Gambia.
Now, what is the lowest innings total in menтАЩs T20Is? ItтАЩs 7 all out in 7.3 overs, by Ivory Coast.
The record for the most consecutive wins in menтАЩs T20Is belongs to Spain, which won 24 matches between February 2023 and August 2026.
And the best bowling figures in the format? That record belongs to Sonam Yeshey of Bhutan, who claimed 8/7 against Myanmar.
These are, of course, international records set by Associate teams тАУ that have not been given full-member status by the ICC and can only play one or two formats at the international level.
Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the way records are maintained in menтАЩs T20Is, arguing that performances in matches involving teams at vastly different levels should not necessarily be compared on the same footing.
Gavaskar clarified that he is not against calling matches between Associate teams as тАШinternationalsтАЩ. His concern, rather, is whether there should be some тАЬsort of minimum standard before stats from these mismatched games are considered for official records” purposes.
His concerns come amid Mongolia being bowled out for 13 a few days ago. As it happens, that total isnтАЩt even the lowest innings total in menтАЩs T20I history.
The India batting legend suggested maintaining separate records for matches played between Associate nations.
тАЬIn the football leagues there are divisions where thereтАЩs a promotion and relegation at the end of a season. So whatever records are set they are mentioned as being in the Divisions, in which they have been achieved in,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for mid-day.
тАЬMaybe something similar should be thought of where depending on the division in which countries are playing the differentiation is clear to everybody. So even while full member countries and those Associate member countries, who qualify for the ICC World cup, can be called internationals when they play against each other, maybe for the others it can be called Division A international or Division B international,” he added.
Gavaskar believes that placing records set in these matches on the same level as those achieved in games involving full-member teams is тАШunfairтАЩ.
тАЬWhen a team is dismissed for such paltry scores, the bowlerтАЩs stats can only be bettered when the emerging ICC Associate member countries play against each other. To equate it with the stats when full member country teams play against each other is simply not fair,” he wrote.
тАЬThe glaring difference in standards means that records will belong to players who most of the cricketing world has never heard of before and perhaps likely to never hear of again,” he added.
The debate also brings into focus the record for the fastest fifty in menтАЩs T20Is. Before NepalтАЩs Dipendra Singh Airee set the record, it belonged to India legend Yuvraj Singh.
While Yuvraj achieved the feat in 12 deliveries against England, Dipendra broke that record against a lowly Mongolia, needing a mere 9 deliveries.
Gavaskar argues that for a team of NepalтАЩs quality, matches against other Associate teams can be a cakewalk.
тАЬMake no mistake, Nepal is making rapid strides as we saw in the T20 World Cup in India earlier in the year when they almost beat England. So, itтАЩs no surprise when its batters and bowlers pulverise the other Associate country teams. But should that count for a record?” he wrote.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Sunil Gavaskar questioned the current record-keeping system after observing mismatched games and paltry scores between Associate teams, such as Mongolia getting bowled out for 13. He argued it is unfair to equate records set in these games with stats involving full-member countries.
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Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
October 12, 2026, 10:31 IST
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