Misbah, Shoaib deliver Kuldeep, Abhishek verdict after India demolish UAE in Asia Cup: 'This is called intent'

Former Pakistan cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik were full of praise for Indian cricketers Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma as the Men In Blue demolished the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by nine wickets in their Asia Cup 2025 opener in Dubai on Wednesday. Kuldeep was the Player of the Match as he took four wickets in just 2.1 overs for seven runs before UAE were bowled out for a low score of 57.

Later, Abhishek Sharma amassed 30 out of the 60 runs that India scored in the victorious chase, scoring at a strike rate of 187.50. In his short stay at the crease, Abhishek, who has made one of the opening slots his own with incredible firepower, smashed three sixes and two fours. He started with a six to long-off against Haider Ali on the very first ball of the chase, followed by a four on the extra-cover. Sharma was dismissed by Junaid Siddique when India were just four runs away from the target.

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Misbah, Shoaib explain Kuldeep’s trickery

While praising Kuldeep’s trickery that became a bane for UAE batters, former Pakistan captain Misbah criticised the local cricketers for their tomfoolery and attacking shots.

“They had a decent powerplay. They should have played from there with a decent plan, but they kept hitting shots against a bowler whom they were unable to read,” Misbah said on the show Game on hai. “They kept throwing wickets. There was no plan. This was on the cards. We said before as well that UAE batters would be able to play the pacers but not the two mystery spinners – (Varun) Chakravarthy and Kuldeep.

“You can’t play Kuldeep if you can’t read him. It wasn’t a very difficult pitch. They were managing on backfoot and there was no sharp turn, but somehow they opted to go aerial, their main batters.”

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Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik recalled the first time he played against Kuldeep over a decade ago in the Champions League T20 competition and how the 30-year-old spinner has evolved over the years.

“First, I played him in India Hyderabad in the Champions League when he was playing for Kolkata Knight Riders and I was playing for a Big Bash Side. That time his deliveries were slow, but he has worked on it,” Shoaib Malik said.

“That time he never bowled a slider, now he does that. His googly has more bite now; it is now pitched in between stumps. His leg-spin is now pitched in better areas. He has evolved since then and has been performing consistently. This was against the UAE, but he does well against big teams as well, and takes wickets in the middle overs.”

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Malik praises Abhishek Sharma’s intent

Malik went on to heap high praise on Abhishek Sharma for the clarity the young opener has in his hard-hitting game, which is not reckless despite being a high-risk strategy.

“First ball, he hit a six. Second ball through covers for a four, but third ball he defended,” Malik added. “Because it was not in his slot. As we say, when the ball is in your slot, you have to hit. That is the demand of modern-day cricket. This is called intent.

“Intent doesn’t mean just whacking everything around. That’s why we see such consistency in his batting because with such high-risk cricket, he is still very successful. This is the real reason because he hits the balls that are in his slots and leaves the ones that are not in his slot.”

Kuldeep and Abhishek can prove to be the match-winners once again for India as they take on Pakistan in their second Group A match of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday.