Pakistan’s poor performance in the Asia Cup 2025 drew harsh criticism from both cricket fans and past players. Even though the team won two of its three Group A games, veteran pacer Mohammad Amir came out in favour of captain Salman Ali Agha and his squad, criticising former players for discouraging the new team in the face of criticism.
In their match against the Men in Green in Dubai on Sunday, India put on a strong performance. The captain of Pakistan chose to bat first after winning the toss, but it backfired as they were only able to reach 127/9 in 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, led the innings with an undefeated 47 off 37 balls as the Men in Blue easily chased down the goal in 15.5 overs.
Apna hi agenda leke baith gaye hain apna kuchh logo ko main dekh raha hu. But ye uska muqabla karega, ye kisko leke aaye ho? The ek match hare aur in baccho k peeche padh jaye, matlab ki ye log wait kar rahe.” (I’ve noticed that some people have begun promoting their own causes. What makes this player a member of the team? What is his strategy for competing with that player? It seems as though they were holding off on condemning these young people until Pakistan lost a single game. According to NDTV, Amir shared a video on social media.
Mohammad Amir stands with the team! 💚
Hear him call out “cricket experts” & fans running their own agendas 🤭 pic.twitter.com/86WMU5Fh9h
— Kh4N PCT (@Kh4N_PCT) September 15, 2025
After their recurrent failures in the shortest format, Pakistan decided to exclude veteran players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from this edition of the Asia Cup. Amir emphasised that new players should be supported, even if he did not specifically name any individuals, pointing out that even the more seasoned players had fallen short.
“Peeche aise padh gaye ho aap in bachho ke. One of the players that experienced the situation was Jin. Sara kuchh kiya hain, kaptaniya ki hain, panch-panch chhay-chhay saal khele hain. “Aaplog to yaar saaare peeche padh gaye ho, yeh bacche ek match kya flop huye hain.” The players you mention had a lot of experience. They have captained the squad, played for almost five-six years, and done it all.
You all have begun condemning these youngsters after they just messed up in one game. “Be patient,” Amir advised.
“Kisine kuchh nahi ukhada, kisine aap baat kar rahe ho na. Saalo mein kisine kuchh nahi ukhada paanch-paanch chhay-chhay. Stats bhi hain, kisine kuchh nahi ukhada, sab ke paas performances hain.” (The players you are all discussing haven’t accomplished anything noteworthy. Since they have been playing for five or six years, each player has their own statistics and performances; nobody has excelled,” he continued.
Speaking of the Pakistani team, they have already advanced to the tournament’s Super Four and will face bitter rivals India in their opening match on September 21 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Their next two Super Four opponents have not yet been determined, but they will be after Thursday’s Afghanistan vs. Sri Lanka game.
India
