Former India all-rounder R Ashwin downplayed the India-Pakistan rivalry on the field and stated that Sunday’s Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 match between the sides will have the Men in Blue slide in as the overwhelming favourites yet again.
The spin legend also said that the match will only witness an upset if Salman Agha’s men manage to put up a fight against India, a week after their group-stage contest ended in a seven-wicket defeat.
While Pakistan scraped past the United Arab Emirates to seal qualification post the India defeat, Suryakumar Yadav’s men survived a brief scare from Oman on Friday before sealing three successive wins to enter the last-four stage.
‘Dont’ bat first’
“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset. From their point of view, I just want to see Saim Ayub score some runs instead of getting out first ball because he is a good cricketer. There aren’t too many concerns to address for India. If I was India, I would want Pakistan to challenge them with the T20 World Cup around the corner,” Ashwin remarked on his YouTube channel.
“I doubt they’ll give much competition to India in the upcoming match as well. It’s just going to be yet another India-Pakistan match with the associate teams out of the tournament, that’s it. Pakistan are still struggling to even scale 150. They are barely getting there, only by Shaheen Afridi’s batting.”
Ashwin also narrowed down certain targets for Pakistan to focus on in the game and also urged them to not bat first with depleted batting firepower in their ranks.
“If I were Pakistan, I’ll just aim at the stumps when bowling and swing hard when batting against India. Because quality wise, I am unsure if they can do much. Will they pick Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy? Will India continue playing Shivam Dube at 8 and give him overs? The wicket is getting better so maybe if Pakistan score 160, it might be a good game,” said Ashwin.
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Batting first in Dubai last week, Pakistan tottered to 127 for nine in 20 overs before India cantered to the target within 16 overs.
“Also, one request to Pakistan – please don’t bat first because of the pressure of the contest. By batting first, you make it a no-contest straightaway. By getting bowled out for 150, you are making the second half unwatchable.”
