India B Can Beat Pakistan Says Danish Kaneria
India B Can Beat Pakistan Says Danish Kaneria. Image Credits: Twitter

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria pointed out that Pakistan does not field two teams despite having an abundance of talented players in the ranks of the domestic circuit. 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed teams to include enough players as a cover-up, top teams like India and England have made the best use of this situation. India is regarded as the hub of talented players boasted by IPL and domestic competitions like SMAT and Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

It becomes difficult to accommodate all talented players in one team: Danish Kaneria

In July 2021, the BCCI had fielded a second-string Indian team under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan to tour Sri Lanka for white-ball fixtures at a time when the senior players were preparing for the Test series in England.

Indian National Cricket Team (Image Credits: Twitter)
Indian National Cricket Team (Image Credits: Twitter)

 A similar thing happened this year when Hardik Pandya led a young team in Ireland for a couple of T20I matches while the core players were playing a warm-up fixture in England ahead of the rescheduled fifth Test. 

“There have been talks about making two Indian teams, as they have so many players that it becomes difficult to accommodate all of them in a single team,” Kaneria said on his YouTube channel. 

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“Zimbabwe is a Test-playing nation and they do play impressive cricket. But despite that, India sent a second-string side for the series. We saw that earlier this year (last year) also when many Indian players were in England and a different Indian team played white-ball games in Sri Lanka,” he added. 

Pakistan Don't Play Second-String Teams Like India Despite Having Talented Players - Danish Kaneria On Netherlands ODIs

Pakistan also have talented players who don’t get the opportunity to play international cricket: Danish Kaneria

Pakistan named a regular 16-member squad for the ongoing ODI matches against the Netherlands in Rotterdam with Babar Azam leading the side. The likes of Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are too part of the squad. 

Kaneria is of the opinion that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have fielded a young team led by Shan Masood for the Netherlands ODIs. 

“It will surely have a big impact on world cricket if they have two teams. No other country has spoken about having two teams and I don’t think they would be able to do that. Pakistan also have a lot of talented players, but they haven’t been getting enough chances,” Kaneria said.

Pakistan National Cricket Team
Pakistan National Cricket Team. Image: PCB

“India, on the other hand, are giving chances to their players, irrespective of where they come from. This isn’t the case with Pakistan. They could have sent in new players for the series against the Netherlands and Shan Masood should have been the captain,” he added. 

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Pakistan won the first ODI against the Dutch side by 16 runs and the two teams will play the second game on Thursday (August 18). 

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