The Pakistan cricket team were demolished all three times they met India at the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE. The action on the field was mostly one-sided barring the rare glimpses of an actual fight, particularly in the final which the Men In Blue won by five wickets.
Kapil Dev, India's first World Cup-winning skipper, during an interaction on Sports Today was asked to reflect his thoughts on the present bunch of Pakistan cricketers. The former India skipper was blunt in his assessment, highlighting the "unfortunate" gap in this era compared to 80s or 90s.
“Pakistan don’t have similar talent like what they used to have in 80s or 90s or before that. Pakistan have given the world the best cricketers – Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. But unfortunately, we can’t see even one percent of that talent of what they used to have,” he said.
Also Read | Pakistan plans to award Mohsin Naqvi gold medal for not giving India Asia Cup trophy
If we look at Pakistan's campaign at the continental event, the team defeated every other opponent except India. However, the wins were far from convincing, particularly the matches against UAE, and Bangladesh.
Pakistan dropped some big names, including their premium batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, entering the tournament. While the openers did manage to give them a good start, and the bowlers too responded well to the job, it was their out of sorts middle-order that hurt them the most.
Meanwhile, the recent clashes between the arch-rivals were marred with controversies as the political tension between the countries took centerstage rather than cricket.
The two nations were meeting for the first time since the heinous Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists in April this year. This forced India to launch Operation Sindoor in retaliation, targeting terror base camps both in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan.
Keeping the recent experiences in mind, India refrained from engaging in any customary rituals throughout the three matches, leaving the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) irked. They filed a complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft, threatened to pullout from the tournament, and passed provocative gestures and abuses towards Indian players and fans.
And when everything was over, India refused to collect the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the head of PCB and Pakistan's interior minister. Naqvi in response took the trophy with him instead of handing it over to Suryakumar Yadav and Co.
As things continue to escalate, Naqvi has said that the Indian team is “welcome” to collect the Asia Cup trophy from him at the continental body’s office head office in Dubai.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
