Would rather watch India vs Afghanistan: Sourav Ganguly says Pakistan not competition anymore – Mint

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has made it clear that he does not consider Pakistan’s cricketing side a competition to their Indian rivals anymore. Ganguly is of the opinion that he would rather watch India face off against the likes of Australia, England, South Africa, and even Afghanistan instead of Paksitan.
When asked about the match at an event, the 53-year-old said he switched TV channels to watch the Manchester derby on Sunday after the 1st 15 overs of the India-Pakistan clash in the ongoing Asia Cup tournament.
Ganguly’s comments come in the wake of India bulldozing through their opponents and winning the encounter by 7 wickets and 25 balls to spare.
When asked about his opinion on the handshake row, the ex-skipper, who is set to be the Cricket Association of Bengal President once again, said in an interview with ANI, “The team did what it thought. Terrorism should not happen. Be it India, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, Qatar. What happened in Bangladesh should not happen. Sports is different. Not everyone plays sports and the majority of people who get killed are not sportsmen. They are normal people. So I think this should not happen.”
At the event, Ganguly spoke of Pakistani greats Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, and Javed Miandad while comparing them to the current side.
“I always say, we think of Pakistan as Waqar Younises, Wasim Akrams, the Saeed Anwars and Javed Miandads. But that’s not the case with this modern-day Pakistan — it’s now like chalk and cheese,” he remarked.
The former BCCI president also commended India’s performance despite the lack of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the side, while also stating clearly that India are “just too far ahead in cricket for Pakistan and most of these Asia Cup teams.”
Shahid Afridi, someone whom Ganguly has faced on the field on several occasions, also recently blasted Pakistan’s cricket infrastructure, blaming the poor performance of their international side on the ‘third class’ quality of their first-class cricket.
After the Asia Cup tournament ends on September 28, India will be hosting the West Indies for a two-match Test series, post which they will travel to Australia for a three-match ODI series (where Kohli and Sharma will be back in the side) and a five-match T20I series.
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