“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset” - Ravi Ashwin ahead of India vs Pakistan clash

Former Indian cricketer Ravi Ashwin has shared his insights ahead of the highly anticipated India vs Pakistan clash in the ongoing Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2025, scheduled for Sunday, September 21, in Dubai.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin has stated that it would be an upset if Pakistan even competes in the game, adding that he would love to see the opening batter Saim Ayub score some runs instead of getting out for a golden duck. He also felt that Men In Green are struggling to score even 150 runs, batting first.

“If Pakistan even competes in this game, it’ll be an upset. From their point of view, I just want to see Saim Ayub score some runs instead of getting out on the first ball because he is a good cricketer. There aren’t too many concerns to address for India. If I was India, I would want Pakistan to challenge them with the T20 World Cup around the corner,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“I doubt they’ll give much competition to India. It’s just going to be yet another India-Pakistan match with the associate teams out of the tournament, that’s it. Pakistan are still struggling to even scale 150. They are barely getting there, only by Shaheen Afridi’s batting,” he added.

Moreover, he asserted that it would be interesting to watch how the Pakistan batters fare against the star Indian spinners, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. Notably, in the group stage fixture, Pakistani batters failed to read the spin duo, staging a major collapse in the middle overs.

“If I were Pakistan, I’ll just aim at the stumps when bowling and swing hard when batting against India. Because quality wise, I am unsure if they can do much. Will they pick Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy? Will India continue playing Shivam Dube at 8 and give him overs? The wicket is getting better so maybe if Pakistan score 160, it might be a good game,” he concluded.

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