'I want Pakistan...': Former India captain makes bold claim on Pakistan

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has made a bold claim on Pakistan as the World Cup 2023 semifinals are on the horizon.

With just a round of group-stage matches to go, we already have three semi-finalists for the World Cup. Hosts India, along with South Africa and Australia, have already qualified for the last four.

And there is a three-way battle for the remaining spot. New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the three teams who are fighting out for the final place. And it is to be seen who claims at the end and joins the other three in the semi-finals.

Amid this, if Pakistan manages to clean the 4th spot, India will be taking on them in the semifinal. In that case, the semi-final will be shifted from Mumbai to Kolkata as ICC has already agreed to the demands of the Pakistan team to play in Kolkata on November 16 instead of Mumbai, if they qualify for the semifinals.

And Ganguly, who is a Kolkata netizen, knows it won't get anything bigger if these two arch-rivals clash against each other at the iconic Eden Gardens.

"I want Pakistan to reach the semi-finals and play India. It can't be a bigger semi-final than that," Ganguly told Sports Tak.

Although Ganguly wants Pakistan to qualify, it will be a difficult task for them to topple New Zealand on Net Run Rate, who are already in a fantastic position against Sri Lanka in their respective match.

Ganguly also acknowledged the Indian team for playing fantastic cricket, but says he doesn't want to jinx the Indian team right now.

"No, it won't be a shock (if this Indian team doesn't win the World Cup). It doesn't happen in sports like that. The entire nation is happy with the way India is playing. The way they have played in the 8 games, it appears that there is a big gap from the rest of the teams. I hope they keep playing like this. I don't think the level will drop so drastically that they will suddenly start playing poor cricket. Fingers crossed, they are looking very good," the former India captain concluded.