Aaqib Javed, former Pakistan pacer, revealed that current India head coach Gautam Gambhir was concerned for Pakistan cricket’s poor state and shared his worries with him.
The Pakistan cricket squad is now experiencing a difficult time, with the team suffering consecutive defeats. The Men in Green were eliminated from the first round of the T20 World Cup 2024 after a surprise defeat to the USA.
If that wasn’t enough, Bangladesh hammered Pakistan 0-2 in a home Test series. It was one of the most disastrous moments in Test cricket history. Pakistan’s losing streak continued as they lost the first of three Test matches to England.
India-Pakistan contests have been overwhelmingly one-sided, with India claiming an advantage over their arch-enemies. They recently met off in the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, with India winning by six runs.
The decision to drop Pakistan’s high-profile players Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah from the second Test drew much criticism from former and current cricket players.
Gautam Gambhir concerned about the decline of Pakistan cricket: Aaqib Javed
Aaqib Javed said in a podcast that he met some of the Indian players during India’s trip to Sri Lanka in July 2024. During the series, Javed also met India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, who was on his maiden assignment as India’s coach at the time.
The former Pakistan captain quickly revealed his chat with Gautam Gambhir, during which India’s head coach raised concerns about the state of Pakistan cricket. Javed further stated that there will be no enthusiasm for India-Pakistan matches if Pakistan’s cricket continues to decline.
“Indian players met me during their Sri Lanka series. Their coach Gautam Gambhir came to me and asked, ‘Aaqib (Javed) Bhai, Pakistan cricket ko kya ho gaya hai (what happened to Pakistan cricket)? We see there’s so much talent in Pakistan, what have they done to the team?’ Even he is disappointed as there are already less cricket-playing nations in the world.
The excitement and charm of the India-Pakistan matches will come to an end if your team gets declined this way. He (Gautam Gambhir) is concerned about it,” Javed said.
Aqib Javed said “Gautam Gambhir met me during India vs Sri Lanka series last month and asked me ‘Aqib Bhai, what happened to Pakistan cricket? We see there’s so much talent in Pakistan, what have they done to the team?” 🇮🇳🇵🇰💔 pic.twitter.com/45etqv80QS
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) October 17, 2024
However, Pakistan bounced back in style as they defeated England in the second Test to register their first Test win at home after more than 1300 days. Pakistan defeated England by 152 runs in Multan, thanks to their spin twins Sajid Khan (9 wickets including 7/111) and Noman Ali (13 wickets including 8/46), doing the damage.
With the bat, Kamran Ghulam stole the show by scoring a century on his Test debut, replacing Babar Azam in the Pakistan XI.
Also Read: Report Reveals IPL 2025 Potential Retention List; Rishabh Pant To Stay In Delhi Capitals
