Following their ignominious series defeat to West Indies on the back of a 202-run loss in the decider in Trinidad, Pakistan must hope that India refuse to play them in the upcoming Asia Cup fixture to avoid further embarassment, said former batter Basit Ali.
Pakistan endured a crushing blow in a 295-run chase in the third match of a series that they began on a positive note, winning the first ODI. However, after imploding in the second game, Muhammad Rizwan and Co. suffered more of the same in the last match. Three of the top four batters, including skipper Rizwan, fell for ducks as West Indies pacer Jayden Seales steamrolled through the Pakistan order with six wickets. Pakistan were bowled out in under 30 overs, their 92-run total marking their lowest-ever score against West Indies in 50 years.
“I pray India refuse to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, just like how they did at the World Championships of Legends. Itni buri tarah maarenge na vo, ki aapki soch hai (They will beat us so badly you can’t even imagine),” Basit said on The Game Plan YouTube channel.
India and Pakistan are slated to lock horns in the group stage match of the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on September 14.
Ali added that he wouldn’t be surprised to if Pakistan slipped up against Afghanistan in the forthcoming tournament.
“If we lose to Afghanistan, no one would care much in this country. But everyone goes mad the moment you lose to India.”
‘Let them just do ads now..’
While the recent blips have come in the 50-over format, Pakistan will hope to put on a better show in the Asia Cup, to be played in the T20 format this year. Ali, however, did not mince his words as he slammed the senior duo of Rizwan and Babar Azam for their recurring failures in ODIs after being axed from the T20I set-up.
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“They’re living up to the performances they did during the beginning of their careers. Ab inse bas advertisements kara lo (Let them just do ads now),” Basit said on The Game Plan.
“They don’t listen to the coaches. Whatever the batting coaches say, they just keep pretending to listen to them. They need someone who can give them a wake-up call, like Inzamam, Yousuf or a Younis Khan. And they know there’s no one who would do that, because they didn’t let anyone do it before.”
