Akram tears into Pakistan after another defeat to India; Misbah, Malik praise Indian openers: 'I am going to speak my heart out'

Cricket legend Wasim Akram went unfiltered with his criticism of the Pakistan cricket team, while his former teammates Misbah-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik could not stop praising Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill as Pakistan suffered another comprehensive defeat to the Men In Blue in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday. After the handshake controversy in the group game, Pakistan were expected to put up a much stiffer challenge against India; however, their resistance lasted only a while before Suryakumar Yadav and Co bulldozed for a seventh straight win against their arch-rivals since 2022.

Asked to bat first in the Super 4 match, Pakistan scored only 171 despite four catch drops from India, despite the Dubai pitch not proving to be as rugged as usual. Their top-scorer was Sahibzada Farhan, who smashed 58 and pulled out a firing gun celebration, most likely a reference to the Pahalgam terror attack.

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Nonetheless, the target was too small for India, who won with seven balls to spare as Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed 105 runs for the first wicket. Abhishek Sharma was the highest run-scorer with a blistering knock of 74 off 39 balls as India won by six wickets.

Akram: ‘It is tough to watch Pakistan’

Disheartened by another chastening defeat at the hands of India, bowling great Wasim Akram could not hold himself back as he blasted Pakistan’s performance, stating that it’s “tough” to watch them getting mauled in such a way by their archnemesis.

“I am going to speak my heart out. It is tough to watch Pakistan," Akram said on Sony Sports. “I understand as an ex-player winning and losing that part of the game. But again India has outplayed Pakistan in every department over the last four or five years.

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“Once or twice, we have won here and there, but it has been incredible from India. The talent, the depth, everything. One or two catches can be dropped in any game, that is fine. But from 91 in the first 10 overs, when we fail to reach 200, there is nothing to say.”

Misbah, Malik praise Abhishek, Gill

Meanwhile, on another show, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was full of praise for Abhishek and his temperament after another match-winning knock.

“The skill level is exceptional, and the temperament is impressive. Playing against Pakistan for the first time, there’s no pressure; he comes in as if he’s batting in the nets. When the ball lands in his zone, he effortlessly hits it out,” Misbah said on Tapmad’s show. “He puts the main bowlers under pressure right from the start, and after that, the team can’t recover.”

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Former Pakistan all-rounder Malik chimed in with praise for Shubman Gill, who made 47 off just 28 balls. “I thought Shubman Gill would remain not out… everything about him is high quality. He doesn’t just play on one side; he knows how to play all around the field. As soon as the conditions changed after six overs, he started rotating the strike,” he said.