Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan backs captain Suryakumar Yadav’s bold take: the heated India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is a thing of the past. The gap between the two teams has grown too wide, especially after India’s dominant six-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super Fours match in Dubai.
Pakistan batted first on Sunday and racked up 171/5, their highest score against India in T20Is when batting first. But India chased it down easily, thanks to explosive knocks from Abhishek Sharma (74 runs) and vice-captain Shubman Gill (47 runs). Those efforts shattered Pakistan’s bowling attack and sealed a comfortable victory for the Men in Blue.
After the match, Suryakumar didn’t hold back. He told reporters the so-called rivalry isn’t real anymore. “Stop asking about it,” he said. “A true rivalry means teams play 15-20 matches, and one leads by just 8-7. That’s good cricket. But 3-0 or 10-1? Whatever the score is, this isn’t a rivalry.”
Wassan, 57, fully agrees. He thinks even Pakistan’s players get it now. Instead of trash-talking or staring down opponents, they should just play the game. Wassan was clearly pointing to the on-field spats between Gill, Abhishek, and Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
“Who in their right mind calls this a rivalry?” Wassan told . “The writing’s on the wall—everyone knows there’s a huge gap between the teams. Don’t hype it up by picking fights or needling players. The results speak for themselves; you’ll just end up embarrassed. Why all the daily coverage? It’s obvious.”
The win quickly got overshadowed by controversial celebrations from Pakistan players. Sahibzada Farhan mimicked firing a gun after reaching his half-century, a move many called insensitive. It came right after the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where militants killed 26 tourists on April 22.
Haris Rauf fired back too, flashing a “0-6” gesture at Indian fans who chanted Virat Kohli’s name to mock him. Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan slammed both, calling out their actions without pulling punches.
The drama escalated off the field when Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut blasted ICC chairman Jay Shah for greenlighting the India-Pakistan clash. In fiery X posts, Raut linked Farhan’s gun gesture to the Pahalgam massacre. “Sahibzada Farhan just showed on the field how Pakistani terrorists gunned down 26 innocents in Pahalgam—like it was nothing,” he wrote. “Gripped his bat like an AK-47 after his fifty! This is a slap to BCCI and the Modi government. For this shame, Jay Shah deserves the Bharat Ratna.”
Raut kept going in another tweet, mocking Shah repeatedly: “Who’s responsible? Jai Bhai! For stopping the India-Pakistan war, Trump should get the Nobel. And for insulting our martyrs, patriots demand Bharat Ratna for Jai Bhai!”
Wassan shrugged off the gestures, urging fans to ignore them. “Why take it seriously? You’re foolish if you do,” he said. “Don’t read too much into it—just focus on the cricket.”
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