‘Pakistan resemble a Popatwadi team’: Sunil Gavaskar’s brutal dig after India’s dominant Asia Cup win

Sunil Gavaskar’s takes brutal dig at Pakistan after India’s dominant Asia Cup win. (Photo: X)

After the India national cricket team defeated the Pakistan national cricket team by seven wickets in their Asia Cup group-stage match at the Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar delivered a scathing critique of the Pakistani side. Gavaskar remarked that Pakistan looked more like a "Popatwadi team" than a national outfit.

Pakistan had earlier struggled to post 127/9 after opting to bat first, while India comfortably chased down the target with 25 balls to spare. The run chase was anchored by captain Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 47, with valuable support from Abhishek Sharma (31) and Tilak Verma (31).

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Pakistan's only player to take wickets during the match was spinner Saim Ayub.  Pakistani icon Wasim Akram also discussed how ajeeb—strange—the Pakistani team XI was looking for the match against India in the lead-up to the match, given that they had only selected one pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the squad.

Gavaskar advanced farther following India's resounding triumph.

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“This did not look like the Pakistan cricket team to me. It looked more like a Popatwadi team,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network after the match.

A weak team is referred to as a "Popatwadi team" in Mumbai cricket slang. Many cricketing luminaries from the past, such as Dilip Sardesai, are credited with popularizing the term "Popatwadi team" in Mumbai cricket circles. Sardesai is reported to have called many weak bowling attacks "Popatwadi" attacks.

Gavaskar added: “I have followed the Pakistan cricket team for decades. One of my earliest cricketing memories is running from Churchgate station to the Wankhede Stadium to watch the legendary Hanif Mohammad play. This is not the same team. I don’t think they will be able to challenge other teams too much.”

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Agree with his take on Pakistan?

Watch the #DPWorldAsiaCup2025, from Sept 9-28, 7 PM onwards, LIVE on the Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/oPblRNgJBk

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 15, 2025

When asked which teams, if not Pakistan, India should be cautious about, Gavaskar mentioned Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

“Sri Lanka have pace and spin and Afghanistan are a very unpredictable team with players like Rashid Khan in the side. So those are the two teams India must watch out for,” he said.

In the 2016 IPL season, Gavaskar used this phrase against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad, so this is not the first time he has used it to refer to a cricket team.