By Jubayer Tanin in Dubai
India–Pakistan cricket matches appear to have lost much of their sporting spark. The contests remain drenched in hype, fuelled largely by political tension between the neighbours, but on the field the gulf in quality has grown increasingly stark. India captain Suryakumar Yadav even declared after Sunday night’s Asia Cup encounter, “This is not a rivalry anymore.”
At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India brushed aside Pakistan in the Super Four stage, chasing down 171 with seven balls to spare. A blistering 105-run opening stand between Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill ensured India were always in control, Abhishek setting the tone by pulling Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first delivery of the innings for six.
The six-wicket win was India’s fifth in their last seven meetings with Pakistan. In total, the recent head-to-head stands at 11–3 in India’s favour. Suryakumar underlined the imbalance when asked whether Pakistan had raised their standards since their earlier defeat in the tournament.
“I feel that you should stop asking about the rivalry,” he said at the post-match press conference. “Standards and rivalry are the same. According to me, if two teams play 15 or 20 matches and the head-to-head is 7–7 or 8–7, then that is called a rivalry. But 13–0, 10–, I don’t know the exact stats, but this is not a rivalry anymore. That said, I feel we played better cricket than them.”
Last weekend’s group-stage clash in Dubai also drew a full house, but again ended with India in command, chasing down 128 with ease to win by seven wickets.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly echoed Suryakumar’s view. “There is no rivalry left anymore in India–Pakistan clashes,” he said. “We still judge Pakistan by the standards of Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar. But Pakistan is no longer at that level.”
The tension between the two sides is largely political rather than cricketing, unlike historic rivalries such as the Ashes. Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi attempted some verbal battles with the Indian batters, but their efforts only backfired. At one stage, Rauf courted controversy when he mocked India’s Rafale jet crash while fielding.
On the field, India’s superiority was clear. Only a handful of matches in recent years have lived up to the billing, notably the 2022 T20 World Cup clash at the MCG, where Virat Kohli produced one of his finest innings in a dramatic finish. Since then, the fixtures have too often been one-sided.
For fans, India–Pakistan still carries enormous appeal, but what was once billed as cricket’s greatest rivalry increasingly feels like a heavily marketed spectacle. Without the backdrop of political hostility, it is doubtful the contest would command the same attention.
