The aftermath of the T20 World Cup 2026 Group A match between India and Pakistan has seen a sort of civil war developing between the current and former Pakistan players. Reacting to the criticism of his own performance, all-rounder Shadab Khan hit back at Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Yousuf and other legendary cricketers, saying they were able to beat India in the World Cups, but his side did achieve something in the 2021 edition, where Babar Azam’s team defeated India by ten wickets in Dubai.
The latest comment by Shadab attracted a lot of criticism from the likes of Basit Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Afridi, and even his fater-in-law, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.
Former India pacer Mohit Sharma reacted to the ongoing row, saying Pakistan players are just hell-bent on talking about India, and this is the main reason their cricket is not developing. He also said that the Pakistan players are living in the past glory days, and hence, it doesn’t look like the state of the sport in the country would improve in the future.
“All the Pakistan cricketers are still talking about it. They are just not concerned about themselves. They are fighting about who defeated India and who did not. They are not talking about the World Cup, how we need to play in it, or how we need to improve. They are just hell bent on talking about India,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz.
“When you talk is not about you winning and beating the other, then you cannot move forward. They are living in the past, and I don’t think they can move ahead in the coming future,” he added.
India’s impeccable record against Pakistan
India’s record against Pakistan is eviable in World Cups. The Men in Blue have lost just one match across World Cups, be it 50-over or 20-over, and that was in 2021, in Dubai.
India extended its head-to-head record to 8-1 in the T20 World Cups after beating Pakistan by 61 runs on February 15 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary also echoed Mohit’s comments, saying it will take a long time for things to change in Pakistan cricket.
“If any country wants to move ahead, then the leader should be firm in his or her decision-making. There should be clarity, and freedom should be given. I don’t think the PCB chief has given full freedom. Mike Hesson is the current head coach, and he is trying to take the team along,” said Tiwary.
“In the last game, we saw things got a bit frustrated between Hesson and the captain, Salman Ali Agha. Babar Azam was not sent out. Agha threw the bottle. It just proves that trust isn’t there,” he added.
Speaking of Pakistan, the Green Shirts’ opening Super 8s match of the T20 World Cup against New Zealand was abandoned due to rain in Colombo on Saturday. The team will next face England on Tuesday, February 24.
