Suryakumar Yadav celebrates with teammates after the wicket of Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz during the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four match between India and Pakistan, in Dubai, UAE.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Having crushed Pakistan with consummate ease in the Asia Cup Super 4 match, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday (September 21, 2025) urged everyone to stop calling the contests between the two nations a meaningful “rivalry.”
India and Pakistan have faced each other 15 times in T20Is, with the reigning world champions winning 12 of those encounters, and in the latest instance the Suryakumar-led side won by six wickets.
When a senior Pakistani journalist asked if the gulf in standards between the two sides had grown too wide, Suryakumar 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,” the Indian skipper quipped nonchalantly.
“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 said before walking out of the media conference room with a grin.
Published – September 22, 2025 04:20 am IST
