Being one of the tournament’s hosts, Pakistan entered the Champions Trophy as the defending champions and as the clear favorite. Sadly, the team captained by Muhammad Rizwan has lost both of their crucial games against India and New Zealand, and they have been eliminated from the competition.
Numerous experts have voiced their dissatisfaction with the Green Shirts’ performance during the competition. Commentator and former India great Sunil Gavaskar also expressed his opinions about the team, saying that the Indian B team was capable of competing with the Pakistani team. Gavaskar also discussed some hitters’ strategies, citing their captain and standout wicketkeeper as examples.
A B squad, in my opinion, can definitely compete with Pakistan. I’m not entirely sure, C team. However, given their current performance, a B squad will be extremely difficult for Pakistan to defeat,” Gavaskar stated on Sports Today.
“Rizawan struck a boundary off the first ball he faced, which was Muhammad. Since it was all about knocking the ball around up until that point, I immediately assumed there would be a shift in strategy. Nevertheless, nothing altered. The Indian spinners were swiftly completing their overs before they realized it. “The fact that nothing went their way was pretty surprising,” Gavaskar said.
Sunil Gavaskar even continued to criticize the team’s selection method, pointing the finger at the lack of bench strength.
The Little Master also said, using Pakistani icon Inzamam-ul-Haq as an example, that it is astonishing that a team with so much natural skill has not been able to develop many outstanding players in their lineup.
This lack of bench strength is remarkable, in my opinion. Pakistan has always had inherent potential. They were natural in the sense that they understood bat and ball instinctively, even though they might not have always been technically correct. Consider Inzamam-ul-Haq. You wouldn’t advise a rookie hitter to adopt his stance, but he had a wonderful demeanor. “Any technical deficiencies were compensated for by his temperament,” Gavaskar stated.
The lack of such skill in Pakistan is astonishing. They have the Pakistan Super League as well. How did India develop so many young cricket stars? The IPL is the reason for it. Players from the area have later represented India and participated in the Ranji Trophy. Pakistan Cricket has to examine that. They must determine the reason behind their diminished bench strength,” Gavaskar said.
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