Beating Pakistan won't be easy - Ganguly

How hard could this be? © Getty Images

After leading East Zone to a resounding win over a Bangladesh Board XI in a Duleep Trophy game, Sourav Ganguly said that India required to stretch themselves to beat Pakistan. Shrugging off Shoaib Akhtar's absence from the Pakistan squad, he acknowledged that there were other players who could prove difficult for India.

"[The] Pakistan team is a good side and India will have to do very well on the field to win the upcoming series against them," Press Trust of India reported Ganguly as saying. He said that despite Shoaib's withdrawal, Pakistan had "a lot of good players on their side and is still a strong side. India will have to do hard work."

The first-innings century stood him in good stead, said Ganguly, for he spent time at the crease, which was important after a lengthy period away from cricket. "It is very important for me to play in...domestic cricket after a long gap. I played for almost five-six hours and that's good enough for me to prepare before the forthcoming series against Pakistan. International cricketers hardly get a chance to play in...domestic cricket and I utilised this before leading the side against Pakistan."