Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly made a brutal retort when told that Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson had called Mohammad Nawaz the ‘best spinner in the world,’ ahead of the India v Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match in Dubai.
Hesson used mind games when he said that Nawaz was superior against Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav of India. Dada, however, rejects the Pakistani coach's argument, saying that the spinner should demonstrate that his coach hasn't "lost his mind."
In his 72 T20I appearances for Pakistan thus far, Nawaz has claimed 71 wickets at an average of 22.42 and an economy of 7.25. Ganguly's disapproval of Hesson's remarks is hardly surprising, given that the 31-year-old has just been able to take wickets regularly in the previous few games.
During the interview with Anand Bazar Patrika, Ganguly was told about Hesson's comment, and the ex-India captain brutally shut down the argument.
The journalist started off the conversation by saying, "Pakistan's coach Mike Hesson has claimed that their team has the best spinner in the world."
To this, Ganguly replied, "And who is that spinner?" To this, the journalist was named Mohammad Nawaz.
"Okay. Then let that spinner prove this time that the coach has not lost his mind,” Ganguly said simply.
Ganguly thinks Suryakumar Yadav and his squad will win the match between India and Pakistan because it will be a one-sided match.
The former captain of India claimed that Pakistan was no longer a formidable opponent and that the current squad was not even close to the caliber of the past squads.
"The quality has deteriorated a lot. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf. All world-class cricketers. And now look who is playing for Pakistan. Excuse me, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wasim Akram are not the same. There can be no comparison between the two teams in terms of talent," he added.
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are not playing for Pakistan in the Asia Cup. The management chose to focus on the 17-member team's big hitters rather than just the two.
"Babar Azam is not there. Rizwan is not there. There is that boy, Fakhar Zaman. In bowling, there are Shaheen Shah Afridi and Harris Rauf. Really, where are Wasim-Waqar and Shoaib, and where are Shaheen Shah Afridi and Harris Rauf? No match in terms of talent. The rest is one and a half days on the field. A lot of things can happen; that is a different matter," said Ganguly.
Meanwhile, Pakistan batted first after winning the toss against India and posted 127/9 in 20 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan making 40 and Shaheen Afridi smoking 33* in 16 balls with four sixes. For India, Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel took two each.
