Shaheen Afridi on Wednesday (September 24) refrained from directly commenting on Suryakumar Yadav’s assessment that India-Pakistan games should no longer be considered a rivalry owing to India’s dominance. Instead, the left-arm quick emphasised his team’s focus on winning the Asia Cup 2025.
Addressing the media before their crucial Super 4 clash against Bangladesh, Shaheen avoided questions regarding Suryakumar’s remarks.
“That’s his view, let him say. When we meet (in the likely Asia Cup final on Sunday), we will see kya hai, kya nahi. Tab dekh lenge. We are here to win the Asia Cup and we will give our best effort for that," Shaheen told reporters.
After thrashing Pakistan by six wickets in the Asia Cup Super 4 match, Suryakumar had downplayed the idea of a rivalry between two sides, citing the lop-sided affairs in India’s favour over the last few years.
This was India’s seventh successive win against Pakistan, and the gulf only seems to be growing wider and wider between the two sides.
"Sir, my request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry. 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," Surya had responded when a question on the gulf between the two teams was thrown at him by a senior Pakistani journalist.
During the Super 4 fixture, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan performed a gun-shot celebration after hitting a half-century and pacer Haris Rauf mimicked fighter jets going down while fielding near the boundary ropes.
When asked if the provocative gestures from Farhan and Rauf were premeditated, Shaheen replied: “There is no specific plan to be aggressive, we have always been aggressive, from the time we started playing. This is how cricket is played and the team morale is kept high."
When quizzed about “what’s been going on" between the two teams, Shaheen Afridi first responded with a cheeky, “Kya chal raha hai?"
On being specifically asked about Farhan and Rauf, the lanky pacer once again steered clear of the issue.
“Our job is to play cricket, people can think what they want. We are here to win Asia Cup. We are trying our best to fulfil Pakistan’s hopes," he said.
On a separate note, Shaheen commented on Pakistan’s struggle to chase 133 against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, saying the format’s nature makes it difficult for all players to perform simultaneously.
“Credit to Hussain (Talat) and (Mohammad) Nawaz for handling pressure. T20 is like this only, everyone doesn’t perform at the same time," he said.
Reflecting on his performance, Shaheen stated, "My job is to fulfil the role assigned to me whether it is batting or bowling. Doesn’t matter if I am injured or unwell. My job is to keep team morale high and perform well."
“It’s not that we are not winning, we have won but we haven’t won against bigger teams. I don’t think our fast bowlers are struggling. T20 format is such that batsmen find it easier to hit on good wickets. But we should have more variation in our bowling and we are striving for that."
Regarding the match against Bangladesh, Shaheen Afridi said the plan is to be aggressive right from the outset.
“Bangladesh is a good team and has played good cricket of late. We have to punch first against them, we have to play good cricket," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
