Former England Adonan Ravi Bopara has considered Indian-Pakistan competition, saying that while the clash remains the most emotional cricket competition, the gap in the skills and minds between the two sides has become too big to ignore.According to Bopara, India no longer sees Pakistan as their biggest cricket threat. Instead, England, Australia, South Africa, and even New Zealand occupy a higher position on their radar.“I don’t think India sees Pakistan as the main threat, they may see England as the main threat, they may see Australia or New Zealand or South Africa.
He believes different conversations in two dressing rooms include a gap between the sides.“Competition will be at the top of the list, but in terms of cricket quality, it’s different, I’m sure in the Indian dressing room, the talk is like: ‘Don’t take it too lightly today, let’s make sure we bury it.’“In Pakistan’s dressing room, it might be more like: ‘Hey, one of us should have today and we will win.'”Bopara stressed that Pakistan was too dependent on individual excellence rather than a collective plan.“They don’t think they will work in India, they just hope that if someone like Fakhar has a big day, that may be enough, but the Indian mind is completely different,” he said.Despite acknowledging the cricket spirit in Pakistan and the talent that appears through Pakistan Super League ((Psl), Bopara said the national team had been trapped in a prolonged “transition” phase.“It has been going on for a long time, in fact, a very long time, but PSL has produced a good player, I’ve been watching men like Shaheen Shah Afridi since he first came to the scene for Peshawar Zalmi, and they have improved, his talent is there, but maybe it is a disciplinary problem,” he said.Bopara outlines that while Pakistan remains the second best team in Asia, the inability to “get it together” has consistently prevented them from challenging India.
