Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif addressed the demise of cricket in Pakistan, comparing it to India and how India evolved the game of cricket into an industry while Pakistan missed the opportunity.
The men in blue recently won the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean, defeating South Africa in the final. Indian captain Rohit Sharma lauded his team’s hard effort over the years for the victory, which broke the 11-year ICC title drought.
On the other side, Pakistan cricket has come under fire from fans for their inconsistency in major competitions and allegations of turmoil in the dressing room. Since winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, the men in green have struggled to put together a formidable side. The recent fiasco in the T20 World Cup 2024 has compelled the board to revamp the team.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan has been the biggest in the cricketing world. The two teams have always been up against each other in the high-intensity battles. When the two arch-rivals cross swords, the stakes are always high as a lot is involved in the game.
India became a reckoning force in world cricket: Rashid Latif says while slamming Pakistan cricket
India is a powerhouse in all three formats, as they reached the finals of the first two ICC World Test championship cycles, recently won the Asia Cup in 2023, and played in the final of the 2023 World Cup. India won the T20 World Cup 2024 as well.
India is also ranked no.1 in ODIs and T20Is, while is in the second spot in Tests, not much behind Australia.
Latif emphasized the distinctions between the two cricketing nations. He stated that the IPL’s data-driven approach has expanded India’s talent pool. On the other hand, PSL has yet to make progress.
“It’s not that India became a reckoning force in world cricket recently, after the World Cup. Go back to 2007, 2011, 2015. They have gained so much knowledge from the foreign coaches and at the same time, they are working at the grassroots level without being noticed. And then IPL came into play. And now, they have all the best minds with them. They have Ponting with DC, Hussey, and Bravo. But hum kya kar rahe hain,” Latif said on his YouTube channel.
India, just like their film industry, developed a cricket industry. We treat cricket as a hobby that’s why we couldn’t turn it into a business. PSL is still there from where it had started. The highest salary cap is $1.40 lakh. Why can’t they push it further? Why can’t we have players like Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins? Because we don’t have the money so there’s in no business,” he added.
Rashid Latif went on to say that people who sought to move PSL ahead were kicked out, and as a result, more players are participating in the Bangladesh Premier League rather than the Pakistan Super League.
“People who conceptualized PSL were thrown out within a year. They had a vision to expand it but it never happened. Humse zyada players Bangladesh mein khel rahe hain (BPL has more foreign players than PSL). Moeen Ali is there, and so is David Miller, just because they have the money. We couldn’t progress,” he signed off.
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