Former India captain Saurav Ganguly believes that Pakistan will be one of the four teams – alongside Indian, England and Australia – to reach the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup, to be held in England and Wales.
Backing his context, the 46-year-old mentioned how good Pakistan has performed in English conditions over the years, winning the 2009 T20 World Cup as well as conquering the Champions Trophy in 2017.
"Pakistan’s record in world tournaments in England is remarkable. They won the Champions Trophy two years ago they won the 2009 World T20 in England.”
The former skipper also mentioned how the current crop as been fairing in their ongoing ODI series against England. Pakistan, who chasing a mammoth 374, fell short of just 12 runs, but asserted their authority in absolute style.
"Pakistan always play well in England. You see the last game in England. England got 374 and Pakistan just lost by 12 runs. They also beat England in England in Test matches there because of their bowling lineup,” he added.
Even in their third ODI, Pakistan posted a respectable 358 while batting first and opener Imam-ul-Haq, with his knock of 151, became the first Pakistani batsman to reach the 150 run mark in ODI cricket.
Furthermore, while speaking of India’s clash against Pakistan in the tournament, Ganguly mentioned that Virat Kohli’s men should be too worried given the quality of players the team has at its disposal. “I don’t believe in records. Both of them will have to play well on that particular day. India will be a very good side. They will be very hard to beat. A team which has the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan can’t be weak,” he said.
Also putting light on Virat Kohli’s record as an Indian T20 League captain, Ganguly said that it is irrelevant to compare the figure from the tournament, as his record as the Indian captain is pretty good. "Don't compare Virat Kohli's IPL captaincy record with that of India. His captaincy records for India is very good actually. He's got him [Rohit] in his team as the vice-captain. Dhoni is there. So, he's well supported."
