Sourav Ganguly, a former captain of India and president of the BCCI, has made fun of Pakistan’s cricket squad, saying that they are no longer competitive on the world stage.
Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata late on Monday, a day after Pakistan fell badly to India in the Asia Cup 2025, that he lost interest in the game early on. He said that he changed the channel on his TV to watch the Manchester derby just 15 overs into the highly anticipated match in Dubai on Sunday.
“Pakistan is no longer a competitive team. Ganguly remarked, “After the first 15 overs, I changed the channel on my TV to watch the Manchester derby.”
“I’d rather watch India play Australia, England, South Africa, or even Afghanistan than Pakistan.”
The former Indian captain said that Pakistan’s standards had dropped, and he remembered a time when the squad had great players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Javed Miandad.
He went on to say, “India and Pakistan are no longer rivals.”
India has already made it to the Super Four stage of the tournament after winning two games in a row. UAE’s win over Oman also guaranteed their spot. In their group encounter on Sunday, India kept Pakistan to just 127 runs for 9 wickets. India then easily chased down the goal with seven wickets left in 16 overs.
Pakistan and the UAE are now tied for second place in Group A, each with two points. However, Pakistan has a better net run-rate of 1.649 compared to the UAE’s -2.030. On Friday in Abu Dhabi, India will finish the group stage against Oman.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has a must-win game against the UAE in Dubai on Wednesday. This game might decide who gets the second Super Four spot from the group.
