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Pathan's absence affected India: Imran
Former Pak captain Imran Khan credited Australia for dominating the series in conditions which were not favourable to them.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan on Friday shared the disappointment of millions of Indians over the poor performance of their national cricket team against Australia in the current home series.
Khan, one of the all-time best all-rounders, said absence of "match-winning" bowler Irfan Pathan from the team could have contributed largely to India's "under performance".
He credited the "stronger mentality" of the Kangaroos for their domination of the series while pointing out that conditions of the sub-continent were not favourable to the Aussies.
On a visit to India to participate in Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative Conference, Khan told reporters that India's performance in Pakistan in March was very impressive.
But "it was disappointing to see their performance here. They did not play to expectation," he said, noting that neither batsmen nor bowlers played to their capabilities.
To a question on Sachin Tendulkar's fitness, he said "I don't see why he cannot go on. It depends on mental strength."
Khan, who successfully led Pakistani team for years before retiring at his prime, said the surfeit of one-day cricket had affected the game negatively as it puts tremendous pressure on players and leads to more injuries.
"The standard of cricket is not the same as it was in 1980s. Bowling standard has particularly come down. We hardly seen any genuine world class bowler," he said.
