A lopsided contest draws strong reactions
India’s dominant seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup group-stage match has reignited debate around the fading competitiveness of the marquee rivalry. Following the match, former India captains Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly offered blunt assessments of Pakistan’s current cricketing standards, expressing disappointment at the lack of quality and contest.
Gavaskar brands Pakistan a ‘Popatwadi team’
Speaking on Sony Sports Network after the match, Gavaskar criticized Pakistan’s performance, remarking, “This did not look like the Pakistan cricket team to me. It looked more like a Popatwadi team.”
The phrase, rooted in Mumbai cricket slang, is often used to describe weak, underperforming teams. Gavaskar emphasized that the Pakistan team’s showing fell well below expectations and did not resemble the fierce sides of earlier eras.
He continued,
“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.”
Gavaskar, who has long been a keen observer of subcontinental cricket, pointed out that India’s real threats in the tournament would likely come from other nations.
“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.”
Ganguly says India vs Pakistan is ‘no contest anymore’
Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, speaking at an event in a video shared by PTI on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, echoed similar sentiments about the Pakistan team’s decline and India’s current dominance.
“Pakistan is no match. I say that with respect just because I see what the team is, it’s the lack of quality in the side. The Indian team played this game without Virat and Rohit, who were stalwarts for such a long time.”
Ganguly revealed that the gap in quality was so apparent that he switched to watching a football match instead.
“India are too far ahead in cricket. From Pakistan and any of these Asia Cup teams. There’ll be one or two days when they’ll get beaten but majority of the days, they’ll be the best team. And I was not surprised with what I saw. I actually stopped watching after the first 15 overs and I was watching Manchester City play Manchester United last night. Because there is no competition any more in India vs Pakistan.”
Comparing the current Pakistan side to its legendary past, Ganguly added,
“I always say, we think about Pakistan as the Wasim Akrams, the Waqar Younises, the Saeed Anwars and Javed Miandads. Pakistan of this modern age and Pakistan of that era is chalk and cheese so it’s not a competition any more. I’d rather watch India play Australia and India play South Africa as well as England, Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan. I don’t think India Pakistan is a contest anymore. We keep hyping it and in the last 5 years, every hype has been shattered. It’s just been one-way traffic.”
VIDEO | On India-Pakistan handshake row, former India captain Sourav Ganguly says, "You need to ask the captain Surya about that (not shaking hands with Pakistani players) and I really don't have any answer that."
He added, "I said that yesterday that Pakistan is no match, I say… pic.twitter.com/IvRQYzou2h
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 15, 2025
India’s win highlights growing gulf
India chased down Pakistan’s modest total of 127/9 in just 15.5 overs, powered by captain Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 47, supported by Abhishek Sharma (31) and Tilak Verma (31). Only Saim Ayub managed to take wickets for Pakistan, as the bowling unit — missing pace support apart from Shaheen Shah Afridi — looked underprepared and unbalanced.
Veteran cricketers and commentators now question whether the once-celebrated India-Pakistan rivalry is losing relevance in its current form — a narrative underscored by both the result and the tone of the post-match analysis.
