"I see a genuine dearth of talent in the country" - Sourav Ganguly opens up on Pakistan's recent slump 

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly attributed Pakistan's series of dismal results to a lack of talent in the country compared to the pool of players from the previous generations. Pakistan are coming off a shocking 0-2 home Test series loss to Bangladesh, their first-ever in the format against them.

It was a continuation of Pakistan's results over the past year, where the side has suffered shocking results across formats. The Asian side went out of the first round in the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups with a 0-3 drubbing to Australia in Tests sandwiched in between.

Speaking at a promotional event in Kolkata, Ganguly was quoted by Sportstak as saying:

"I see a genuine dearth of talent in the country. Every time we think of Pakistan, we remember Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan. That's the memory of Pakistan for us, but that doesn’t win matches in the modern generation of cricket."

He continued:

"Every generation has to produce outstanding players to win, and when I look at Pakistan in world cricket -- I saw them in the West Indies World Cup, in India during the World Cup, and now after the Bangladesh series loss -- there is a dearth of talent in that country."

Having slipped to second from bottom on the latest World Test Championship (WTC) standings and eighth on the ICC Test Team Rankings, Pakistan have an uphill task in their next assignment - a three-Test home series against England.

---

"India will be a different kettle of fish" - Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly congratulated Bangladesh for their incredible series win in Pakistan but cautioned them that playing India will be a much stauncher challenge.

Bangladesh will take on India in a two-Test series in India, starting in Chennai on September 19.

"Going to Pakistan and beating them is never easy, so congratulations to the (Bangladesh) players. But India will be a different kettle of fish; India, whether at home or away, are a fantastic side with a very strong batting unit. I don't see Bangladesh winning; India will win the series. But India must expect good and tough cricket from Bangladesh because they are coming into the series with a lot of confidence after beating Pakistan in Pakistan," said Ganguly.

India are currently on top of the WTC table and second on the ICC team rankings in Tests.

Bangladesh have never beaten India in a Test match, with the latter winning 11 out of the 13 games and the other two ending in draws.