June 05, 2017
BIRMINGHAM: Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has expressed his disappointment over poor cricket shown by team Pakistan against India in its Champions Trophy opener on Sunday.
Speaking to Geo.tv, Ganguly said that Pakistan was in desperate need of restructuring its domestic cricket, adding that Indian Premier League was not the factor which put Indian cricket ahead of Pakistan.
“Pakistan needs to restructure its domestic system; you have to improve your First Class cricket. You have to play regular cricket,” he said.
“I can’t accept that a country, which has got immense talent, cannot fix its First Class cricket.”
The former Indian skipper said senior Pakistani players should be consulted in view of improving cricket in Pakistan
“Something needs to be done for Pakistan cricket. Wasim, Waqar, Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik…(senior Pakistani cricketers) need to be consulted because a good Pakistani side is important for world cricket. With time their performances are going down,” he lamented.
He also said that the contrasting difference between both sides was adversely impacting the traditional contest between Pakistan and India.
“The last intense contest between the two sides was in the 2007 T20 final when Misbah took the game to the end after that nothing such match happened,” he said. “What a team it was in the past. There were Javed Miandad, Salim Malik, Wasim, Waqar, Abdul Qadir. It is a game of cricket- one side wins, one side loses but there should be a competition.”
Responding over a question, Ganguly said that the Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz will learn with time but he can't do anything on the field without having support of a good team with him.
“Captain doesn’t win without having a good team,” he added.
He refrained from giving his comment on the prospects of bilateral series between Pakistan and India.
