‘Pakistan need someone like Kirsten or Wright’: Kaneria draws comparisons with Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Sep 1 (IANS) Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria heaped praise on Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and highlighted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also needs to work on a similar path of building a team after their recent failures against England.

Kaneria spoke on the ongoing decline of Pakistan cricket and highlighted how a suitable coach can help them come out of the slump. The former speedster highlighted how players in Sri Lanka are feeding off from the coaching setup as he hailed the performance of Sonal Dinusha in the epic draw against India in a recent Colombo Test.

“I have to praise Sri Lanka’s Sonal Dinusha here. I think he has a fantastic career. In the coming times, his name will be written in the golden books. He completely neutralised the Indian bowling,” Kaneria told IANS in an exclusive interaction.

“For India, Manav Suthar has a very good career; he has it in him to become a big bowler. But the way Sonal played, you can see the difference (between Sri Lanka and Pakistan),” he added.

Kaneria further emphasised that Sri Lanka’s current coach Gary Kirsten is grooming the players and predicted that the Lankan side will be a “very dangerous” one in the next few months.

“Gary Kirsten is Sri Lanka’s coach. This is the difference: he identified the player, played him and see what he did. Kirsten has good players, and he is grooming them. Within 7-8 months, the Sri Lankan team will be a very dangerous team. They have a good bunch of things. The best thing is they have a fantastic coach. He knows how to pick up the team,” he said.

He further highlighted that Pakistan also need someone like Kirsten or John Wright to build a team from scratch for the future with youngsters. “Pakistan need somebody like Gary Kirsten or John Wright to form a new team from a new structure,” he said.

Taking note of Dinusha’s epic fight in the Colombo Test and Pakistan’s failures in England, Kaneria said Pakistan do not have a player like him. “There is no player in Pakistan who plays like Sonal. No one comes close to him. No doubt, wickets were dead, but still. It is not easy to stand there for so long and draw a match for your country. It’s a big thing. You are right,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kirsten was Pakistan’s white-ball coach for six months in 2024 but exited from the role due to differences with the PCB. Kaneria was asked about Kirsten’s unceremonious exit, as he stated that “good coaches won’t stay with Pakistan”.

“If a good player comes to Pakistan, he will ask for forgiveness.

He will leave. Why will he stay? He will say, what is this? What I am planning, if it goes forward, it changes. If I am planning, the plan changes. What is my job? It is useless to waste time and lose respect,” he concluded.

–IANS

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