Irfan Pathan slams PAK after one-sided loss to India
For all the buzz and the hype, the Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakan ended up being a rather one-sided affair, with Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India beating Salman Ali Agha’s Pakan seven wickets in the Group A clash in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night. India were clinical in their approach as they limited Pakan to just 127/9 in 20 overs after being asked to bowl first. While chasing, the toothless Pakani bowling attack was no match for the Indian batters either, as the Men in Blue chased down the modest target in 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.
Looking back at the gulf between the two nations and the competition offered Pakan in the group stage match, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan slammed Pakan and said even a domestic side from India could beat them. He went on to say teams like Mumbai and Punjab — which have done exceedingly well in white-ball Indian domestic tournaments — could beat Pakan.
“If you ask which of our domestic teams can beat Pakan, I know for sure Mumbai can beat them. Punjab can beat them. Next, which IPL team can beat Pakan? A lot of them,” said Irfan on Sony Sports Network.
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Pakan had one frontline pacer in Shaheen Afridi, with the bowling attack dominated spinners — much like India, who went with ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah along with Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy. But unlike the Indian spinners, Pakan’s tweakers were not effective, barring their batting all-rounder Saim Ayub, who picked three wickets.
‘No competition’
Former Mumbai cricketer Abhishek Nayar said that had India played against any other Indian side, it would have been more of a practice match for the future, unlike the Pakan side, which failed to challenge the Indian team at all.
“We were thinking about how to build up the game. Pakan came with spinners and did not have fast bowlers. Their bowling was different, but there was no actual difference. From the start to the end, after winning the toss and batting first to the chase, Pakan were not in the competition at all. If India were playing versus India, and it was more of a practice match for the future,” said Nayar.
