India has developed a cricket industry but we still treat it as a hobby: Former Pakistan captain’s candid comparison

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has analysed the decline of his country’s cricketing system and explained the difference with India, who recently won the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean, beating South Africa in the final. Indian captain Rohit Sharma credited the team’s hard work over the past few years for the win, ending their ICC title drought.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket team has come under fire from fans for inconsistent performances in big tournaments and rumours of discord in the dressing room. The players in the green jerseys have struggled to build a strong team since winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. A recent disastrous defeat in the 2024 T20 World Cup has forced the board to restructure the squad.

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Meanwhile, Latif highlighted the difference between the two cricketing nations. He said with the IPL becoming more data-driven, India has increased its talent pool. On the other hand, the PSL is yet to make progress.

“It is not just recently, after the World Cup, that India has come to the forefront of cricketing circles. Look back to 2007, 2011 and 2015. India has gained a lot of knowledge from foreign coaches and at the same time, they have been operating at the grassroots level, staying under the radar,” Latif said.

“Then the IPL started and now they have the best talent – they have Ponting, DC, Hussey, Bravo – but it’s not the same,” he added.

The former cricketer stressed that India had the potential to make the IPL a global brand but the PSL failed to achieve such success.

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“India has developed its cricket industry just like it has its film industry. We treat cricket as a hobby so we have not been able to make it a business. PSL is still there from where it started. The highest salary cap is $140,000. Why can’t they push it further? Why can’t we hire players like Mitchell Starc and Orth Cummins? We don’t have the money so it’s not a business,” Latif said.

“The people who conceived the PSL were kicked out within a year. They had a vision to expand it but it never materialised.” Bangladesh’s Humse Zada “(The BPL has more foreign players than the PSL). They have Moeen Ali, they have David Miller, but only because they have the money. We have not been able to go ahead,” he added.