Sourav Ganguly reckons that Pakistan is not in the same yardstick as India

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has finally revealed his true feelings about the Indians reaching the world number one rankings. While the former skipper seems quite pleased regarding the rankings, it also seems quite clear that he believes that Pakistan is not in the same yardstick as the Indians at the moment.

Pakistan made their ascend to the world number one ranking courtesy of a hard-fought 2-2 draw against England in England. While this saw some tremendous fighting spirit from Pakistan, Sourav Ganguly still believes that the Pakistanis have a long way to go when it comes to competing with the rest of the teams in the world.

“I don’t think Pakistan are India’s yardstick at the moment. India is a far better side than Pakistan in Test cricket. So I don’t think it could be a comparison. I was surprised to see Pakistan becoming No.1 after their 2-2 series against

“So I really didn’t consider that to be No.1 but I think this win is a lot more satisfying for India and lot more satisfying for viewers like us and for people who played cricket for such a long time,” Ganguly to India Today.

Speaking about the number one position, Ganguly believed that most of the teams in the world cannot call themselves the ‘real’ number one team in the world. “I still don’t agree with the No.1 position because I don’t think India have won in Australia or England or South Africa or New Zealand. I didn’t agree with Pakistan’s No.1 position. In my era, Australia was the real No.1 Test side because they won everywhere,” he said.

The former Indian skipper went on to shower praise on Virat Kohli. “He sets high standards for himself and I think he’ll set high standards for Indian cricket as well,” he added.

Finally, speaking about the surface, “The surface had everything for the bowlers. Fast bowlers got help today (Day 4) as well. It was not one of those square rank turners you get in India. Everybody came into the game. Everybody had to be at their best to pick wickets and win Test matches. That exactly what happens when you travel overseas. India’s power in Test cricket will be judged how well they play overseas and victories like this on these sort of surface will make them confident when they travel abroad.”