Suryakumar Yadav: Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav urged mediapersons to stop referring to India vs Pakistan cricket matches as a ‘rivalry’. He opined that a rivalry exists between two teams who complete hard and pointed out that in the India-Pakistan contest only one team has had the upper hand for years.
Suryakumar Yadav: The Men in Blue kicked off their Super 4 campaign in Asia Cup 2025 with a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, September 21. Bowling first after winning the toss, Team India held the opposition to 171-5 and then chased down the target in 18.5 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav: Speaking at the post-match conference, Suryakumar emphatically hinted that the hype around India-Pakistan matches seems needless in the wake of the Men in Blue’s continued dominance. Responding to a query on Pakistan, he said:
“Sir, I would want to say one thing on this question. I think you guys should stop asking questions on this rivalry. If two teams play 15-20 matches and if the head-to-head is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is good question and that is called rivalry. 13-0, 10-1; I don’t know what the stats are, but this is not a rivalry anymore. I feel we played better cricket than them.”
Team India have won the last four matches played against Pakistan in the T20I format – two of their wins were registered in World Cups. Overall, India have a commanding 12-3 lead over Pakistan in T20Is.
Suryakumar Yadav stresses on flexibility in the batting order after Asia Cup 2025 win over Pakistan
India have been experimenting on their batting order quite a bit in T20Is. In the previous match against Oman, Sanju Samson batted at No. 3 and scored a half-century. But, on Sunday against Pakistan, skipper Suryakumar himself walked into bat after the first wicket fell. Asked about the significance of flexibility in the batting department, he stated:
“I think, barring openers, up to No. 7 and No. 8, everyone needs to be flexible in batting. We have both left-handers and right-handers. There are power hitters and there are some players who can manage the game. It will all depend on the need of the hour. If someone has scored a 50 at No. 3 or No. 4 and if that batter has to go in at No. 6 in the next game, they have accepted this.
“In this format, if players can make their impact, even in small ways, we can be a very dangerous team,” Suryakumar concluded.
India’s next match in the Super 4 round of Asia Cup 2025 will be against Bangladesh on September 24. They will then face Sri Lanka on September 26.
