Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali expressed astonishment at the contrasting performances of the Bangladesh cricket team, which recently suffered a humiliating 2-0 Test series defeat against India after registering a historic Test series win in Pakistan.
Ali questioned the Bangladesh team’s lackluster display in the Test series against India, saying, “Is this the same Bangladesh team that whitewashed Pakistan (2-0)? You saw in the Test matches (against India). They lost the first one and then were defeated in virtually two days, even the rain could not save them.”
Ali attributed India’s dominance to their exceptional depth, highlighting the performance of the young Indian Premier League (IPL) stars led by Suryakumar Yadav. “India have changed cricket (with their dominance). Bangladesh is just an appetizer (for them),” he said.
The T20I retirement of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja has created opportunities for new players in the Indian team. Ali noted the absence of several key players from the playing XI in the match at Gwalior, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Ravi Bishnoi.
“Yeh IPL eleven hai, India ki team nahi hai,” said Ali, emphasizing the strength of the Indian team’s bench. “And still they hammered them in just 11-something overs, finishing with a six from (Hardik) Pandya.”
Ali praised the performances of debutants Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made their first international appearances in the match. He particularly lauded Yadav’s impressive pace, saying, “There were two debuts, but it was a dream debut for Mayank Yadav. The first over was a maiden, including a 149.8 kmph delivery.”
Ali expressed hope that Yadav remains fit for India’s upcoming tour of Australia, saying, “I pray that this kid remains fit and goes on the Australia tour.”
After the T20I series against Bangladesh, India will face New Zealand in a three-Test series before traveling to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which will be contested over five Test matches.
