'Quality Can't Come From Playing IPL' - Sourav Ganguly's Special Request For Modern-day Players

India and Pakistan have had entirely contrasting journeys at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. India is still the only unbeaten side in the tournament, where they have tasted victory in all eight of their league games as of now to qualify for the semifinals for a fourth straight time. Pakistan, on the other hand, lost five of their nine league games. This was the first time for Pakistan to lose five matches in a single World Cup edition, which included an array of four consecutive defeats, to finish fifth in the points table. This was the third straight time in 12 years that Pakistan didn’t qualify for the semifinals of the World Cup.

Most players from the team who have qualified for the semi-finals i.e., South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are giving credit to their IPL experience for adapting easily to the Indian conditions. Pakistan, on the other hand, lacked the experience of playing on Indian soil. Only two of the fifteen members had previously travelled to India and they also did not have a lot of experience of playing in India.

Speaking to Pakistan TV channel A Sports, Sourav Ganguly, while comparing the contrasting World Cup campaigns of arch-rivals India and Pakistan, credited the Indian domestic cricket as the reason behind the team having a really large pool of talented players to pick from.

The Former BCCI Chairman also emphasized the need for players to be part of the longer formats more than playing just the shorter formats like T20 or T10 cricket across the globe, which he feels leads to mediocrity. West Indies is the best example in this regard given their record in ODIs and Test Cricket in the past few years.

Sourav Ganguly Gives Domestic Cricket Equal Credit As IPL For India’s Good Run

“IPL is not the sole reason for India’s success in international cricket. Quality cannot come from playing only IPL, quality comes from playing 4-day, 5-day cricket. If you play more T20 cricket, you will remain mediocre. I always say that play T20s, make money from T20s but if you want to be a player, you have to play 4-day, 5-day cricket,” Ganguly explained.

“Players should be like Wasim Akram, who could bowl 25-30 overs in a day. He was fast with the new ball and with the old ball as well. I think not only IPL, but the entire Indian cricketing infrastructure is incredible. There are so many matches, so many players and we are lucky in that way,” the former BCCI president further added.

The former Indian captain also explained how cricket has become a more stable career option in India over the last few years. He credited BCCI for directing the cash flow in the right direction which helped in developing Indian Cricket to new heights.

“Money is used in the right direction, they are used on the players. First-class cricket has seen an incredible pay rise. The first-class cricketers play cricket from September to March and then 2 months of IPL. And I think it is because of this system that the team is so strong. And of course the match security,” Ganguly explained.

“There is a lot of talent in your country too. I keep hearing about it. The country that has Shaheen Shah Afridi, the team that has Rizwan, Babar, and Imam could be great if some specific changes are made,” Ganguly concluded.

Sourav Ganguly also praised the talent present in Pakistan and suggested some specific changes to be made that will make Pakistan cricket reach new heights. Pakistan has a very flawed system of administration and the whole PCB runs in bits and pieces which is a shame given the talent present in the Pakistan Cricket Team.