As the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 clash approaches, former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth has stirred the pot with a fiery critique of the Pakistan cricket team. The two arch-rivals are set to face off in Dubai on September 14 (Sunday), but Srikkanth has already dismissed Pakistan as a serious threat, calling them a “below-average side” and questioning the impact of their star pacer Shaheen Afridi.
Srikkanth Mocks Pakistan’s Win Over Oman
India kicked off their Asia Cup 2025 campaign in emphatic style, defeating the UAE by nine wickets, chasing down a modest 58-run target with 93 balls to spare. Pakistan also opened with a win, beating Oman by 93 runs, but Srikkanth brushed off the result as meaningless.
“Pakistan is a below-average side with both bat and ball. Even Shaheen Afridi isn’t anything deadly,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel. “Yes, they beat an Oman side full of players above 34-35. That team is full of uncles. Beating them shows nothing.”
He added humorously, “At my age, even I can captain Oman now. Even their bowling looked impressive only because it was against those Oman uncles. Let’s see how they perform against Indian youngsters.”
While Pakistan have shown good form recently in T20Is — beating the West Indies and winning a tri-series against Afghanistan and the UAE — India have been far more dominant. The Men in Blue have won 25 of their last 28 T20Is, including their triumphant run at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Criticism of Mike Hesson’s Coaching Record
Srikkanth didn’t stop at the players; he also targeted Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson, questioning his ability to lead a team to success.
“He keeps making bold statements. But whichever team he’s coached has never done well,” Srikkanth said. “He coached RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and they won nothing during his tenure. How are Pakistan going to do well under his coaching?”
The former India cricketer also took a dig at Pakistan’s young batter Saim Ayub, who had a poor outing against Oman. “The way Saim Ayub got out, I knew that was Mike Hesson’s influence. Hesson must have told them to throw the bat at everything. He must have batted like that himself,” Srikkanth added.
As India prepare to take on Pakistan in one of the most watched fixtures in world cricket, Srikkanth’s comments have added more spice to an already intense rivalry. Fans now await Sunday’s showdown to see whether Pakistan can prove their critics wrong or if India will continue their dominant run.
