Pakistan cricket team in action© AFP
The Pakistan cricket team faced a lot of criticism following their humiliating Test series defeat against Bangladesh where they lost both matches. It was a historic low for the side which failed to reach the ODI World Cup 2023 semifinals and were eliminated in the group stages of the T20 World Cup 2024 after a shocking loss against USA. Former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly did not mince any words while speaking about Pakistan's downfall in the recent times and urged the stakeholders to take a close look at what is going wrong. In an event on Monday, he said that Pakistan used to have star players like Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram but that is not the case at the moment.
"I see a genuine dearth of talent in the country. Every time we think of Pakistan, we remember Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan."
"That's the memory of Pakistan for us, but that doesn't win matches in the modern generation of cricket. Every generation has to produce outstanding players to win, and when I look at Pakistan in world cricket -- I saw them in the West Indies World Cup, in India during the World Cup, and now after the Bangladesh series loss -- there is a dearth of talent in that country."
"The people connected with the sport in Pakistan will have to look into it. I'm not saying this with disrespect. Pakistan of the old had some great cricketers, which I don't see in this squad," Ganguly said.
Ganguly believes Rishabh Pant is on course to become an all-time great in Test cricket but at the same time, the southpaw needs to raise his game in the shorter formats.
Pant on Sunday returned to the Test side for the first time since his life-threatening car accident in December 2022. He is expected to the start the first Test against Bangladesh beginning in Chennai on September 19.
Since his return earlier this year following the accident, Pant has played T20s and ODIs and has done well. "I consider Rishabh Pant one of India's best Test batsmen. I'm not surprised that he's back in the side, and he will continue to play for India in Tests," Ganguly said.
(With PTI inputs)