Pakistan were outplayed by India in a Champions Trophy match on Sunday.
Opting to bat first, the Men in Green were bowled out for a below-par 241 in 49.4 overs. Saud Shakeel was the top scorer with 62 off 76 balls.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav returned with three wickets and every other bowler except Mohammad Shami claimed at least one scalp as India bundled out the arch-rivals for 241 in 49.4 overs.
In reply, the Men in Blue rode on Virat Kohli’s unbeaten hundred (100) and crucial contributions from Shreyas Iyer (56) and Shubman Gill (46) to overhaul the target with 45 deliveries to spare.
This outcome jeopardized Pakistan’s title defence while the Men in Green were officially knocked out of the semi-final race after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by five wickets in a Group A clash at Rawalpindi.
Speaking to India Today, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar came up with a sharp assessment of the decline of Pakistan's white-ball side, claiming that Mohammad Rizwan's side would struggle even against India's B team.
"I think a B team certainly (can give Pakistan a run for their money). C team, I am not too sure. But a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form," Gavaskar said.
The 75-year-old highlighted the stark difference in intent between the two batting units. "It could well have been. The first ball Rizwan faced, he hit for a boundary. Straightaway, I thought there would be a change in approach because, until then, it was all about knocking the ball around. But nothing changed. Before they knew it, the Indian spinners were finishing their overs quickly. It was quite surprising that nothing went their way," he stated.
Gavaskar expressed disappointment over the current team's lack of bench strength. He mentioned that underperforming seniors have been able to retain their places due to the absence of emerging talent.
"I think it's surprising-this lack of bench strength. Pakistan always had natural talent. Natural in the sense that they may not have always been technically correct, but they had an instinctive understanding of bat and ball. Look at Inzamam-ul-Haq, for example. If you look at his stance, you wouldn't recommend that to a young batter, but he had great temperament. With that kind of temperament, he made up for any technical shortcomings," Gavaskar said.
"It's surprising that Pakistan have not been able to produce such talents. They also have the Pakistan Super League. How has India produced so many young stars in white-ball cricket? It's because of the IPL. Players from there have gone on to play in the Ranji Trophy and eventually for India. That is something Pakistan cricket must analyse. They need to figure out why they no longer have the bench strength they once did," he remarked.