NEW DELHI: After India crushed Pakistan by six wickets in their Asia Cup 2025 clash on Sunday, skipper Suryakumar Yadav made a striking remark — urging everyone to stop calling the contests between the two nations a meaningful “rivalry. This was India’s second win over Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup, having also beaten them comfortably in the group stage. For Suryakumar, the results speak for themselves.When a senior Pakistani journalist asked him if the gulf in standards between the two sides had grown too wide, the Indian captain responded with a smile:“Sir, my request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry.”
When the scribe clarified that he was referring to “standards, not rivalry,” Suryakumar doubled down with a cheeky grin.“Sir, rivalry and standard are all the same. Now what is a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 matches and it’s 8-7, that’s a rivalry. Here it’s 13-1 (12-3) or something. There is no contest,” he quipped before walking out of the press conference room with a grin.Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh echoed the sentiment on social media, backing Suryakumar’s views with a touch of humour. Posting a photo of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma having a heated on-field chat with Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf, Harbhajan captioned it:“The One Sided Rivalry (with laughing emojis). Chak de India.”He further deleted the word ‘Greatest’ on the photo and kept “Rivalry”.
The numbers clearly justify their stance. India and Pakistan have met 15 times in T20 internationals, with the reigning world champions dominating 12 of those contests. Since the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, India have beaten Pakistan seven times in a row across white-ball formats.Over the years, the imbalance has only widened. Pakistan’s decline following the retirement of several star players has left them struggling against a settled Indian unit. Their earlier meeting in this Asia Cup was another example, when India comfortably chased down 128 to seal a seven-wicket win in the group stage.The list of recent clashes highlights the one-sided nature of the encounters:Asia Cup 2025: India won by 6 wicketsAsia Cup 2025: India won by 7 wicketsChampions Trophy 2025: India won by 6 wicketsT20 World Cup 2024: India won by 6 runsICC Cricket World Cup 2023: India won by 7 wicketsAsia Cup 2023: India won by 228 runsT20 World Cup 2022: India won by 4 wickets
