‘No competition lately’: Ganguly hopes for a fight from Pakistan against ‘superb’ Indian team

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly calls Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I side a ‘superb team’ and that beating them would be challenging for even the top-ranked sides, let alone Pakistan. After the Pakistan government and PCB withdrew their boycott of the marquee India game at the ongoing T20 World Cup, Ganguly was among several high-profile names across India to lend his thoughts on this contest. Ganguly said he remains unaware of the talks at the government level but sounded happy that the two teams will play in Colombo amid rising tensions lately, adding that politics and sports should never merge.

Having served as an Indian captain and a BCCI administrator (as the board’s elected president), Ganguly knows what happens behind the scenes and thus expressed excitement over this Sunday showdown going ahead as planned. Pinpointing the difference between the two teams, Ganguly rated India far better than Pakistan.

Ganguly also commented on how it will take more than just performance for Pakistan to get the better of this Indian team.

Speaking to ANI on Pakistan agreeing to play India in the scheduled Group A match, Dada said, “I am not aware of the talks on the government level, but it is good that they are playing. Sports and politics are different. It will be a good match. India and Pakistan matches have always been good; there has not been much competition in the last few years. I hope Pakistan plays well because India is a superb team, and it is not going to be easy for them to defeat India.”

Ganguly picks his favourite players

Ganguly feels this 20-team tournament has started well, and that each of the participating teams, including all associate teams, has exceeded expectations. While praising the lower-ranked sides for pushing above their weights thus far, Ganguly also picked his favourite Indian players from this squad.

"The tournament has started really well. So far, it doesn't look that any team is out of place, be it the Netherlands, Scotland or Nepal. In the Indian team, Abhishek Sharma, Bumrah, Surya, and Ishan Kishan are my favourites," Ganguly added.

Meanwhile, Team India won its tournament opener against the USA in Mumbai and now faces Namibia on Thursday (Feb 12) in Delhi, currently sitting at the top of Group A, with Pakistan in the second place. The Men in Green play their second league match against the USA on Tuesday evening in Colombo.