Australian team is worse than crisis-stricken Pakistan: Ganguly

MELBOURNE - Taking a swipe at Australia ahead of their World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has labeled Ricky Ponting’s side worse than crisis-stricken Pakistan.

He further said that he hopes to see another rival torpedo Australia’s bid for a fourth consecutive World Cup crown.

Ganguly is known for his jibes against Australia and the former skipper said that the Australian team is no more invincible.

Australia go into this tournament as the world’s No.1 ranked one-day side, but Ganguly believes their World Cup dynasty is about to come crashing down following their dismal 3-1 Ashes defeat.

“The days of Australian dominance seem to be over. Ricky Ponting has not dropped a game as captain. But this current team doesn’t look as formidable and their confidence seems to have taken a beating, especially with the heavy Ashes defeat,” Ganguly said.

“Their performances in the two warm-up games have been very ordinary. It’s going to be a huge cricket extravaganza for the next 45 days and I hope we see a new champion,” News.com.au quoted him, as saying.

Ganguly also said that the struggling Pakistan team, rocked by the match-fixing saga, is a better one-day team than the Australians.

“This World Cup is an even platform and, as of today, the three best teams along with India are South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” Ganguly wrote in a newspaper column.

“So, where does Australia go from here? Three consecutive World Cup wins mean they surely have the ability to rise to the occasion in big tournaments. They really have to lift their game to be successful. They play in Sri Lanka where the wickets will turn and how well they handle it will be the biggest challenge for them,” he wrote.

“Their success will depend on how David Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White and Steve Smith deliver,” Ganguly added. (ANI)