Former wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif has weighed in on the downfall in Pakistan cricket, explaining how it’s different from India.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team recently clinched the T20 World Cup 2024 title by defeating South Africa in the final in Barbados. It was a big achievement for the Men in Blue as they remained unbeaten throughout the tournament to end their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought.
In contrast, Pakistan suffered a shocking first-round exit from the marquee event. They paid the price for a Super Over defeat against debutants USA in their campaign opener, followed by a nervy six-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India.
In the wake of their T20 World Cup debacle, fans and many former cricketers have called for wholesale changes in the Pakistan side.
Meanwhile, Latif highlighted the differences between the approach of two cricketing nations. He mentioned how India have increased their talent pool with the IPL, while the PSL is yet to create an impact.
“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,” Latif said.
“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,” he added.
Rashid Latif credited India for making IPL a global brand and rued the failure of PCB to take PSL to a higher level.
“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 Oat Cummins? Because we don’t have the money so there’s in no business,” Latif said.
“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 further remarked.
(With CricketNext Inputs)
