Ishant Sharma Explains True Difference Between India And Pakistan Teams, Says "Feel Bad For Them"

The difference between India and Pakistan men's cricket teams has grown multifolds over the last few years. While India manage to put on different world class teams for every single format, Pakistan are struggling to assemble even one playing XI that can challenge for the top honours on the global stage. In the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, India have already hammered Pakistan twice - once in the group stand and the other time in the Super 4s - to prove their supremacy. Seeing Pakistan cricket falling so behind, veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has started to 'feel bad for them'.

During an interview with Raj Shamani on his podcast, Ishant opened up on the 'pressure' Pakistan has to face on a daily basis, especially from their own fans.

"Pakistan already have so much pressure on them, how will they handle more from us? If you look at the matches, their fans in the crowd are always shouting behind them from the stands. Actually, sometimes I feel bad for them," Ishant said during the podcast.

India and Pakistan can potentially face each other for the third time in the Asia Cup 2025. Considering the state of affairs in the Pakistan team, Ishant has no doubts about the pressure Salman Agha's men are bound to face against Suryakumar Yadav's side.

"The pressure will be high (during an India vs Pakistan match), but that was more during the time when they had great players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Afridi... these were great players. The kind of talent, exposure, and infrastructure we have, they are not even close," he added.

After India's victory against Pakistan in a recent Super 4 clash, Suryakumar Yadav said that Salman Agha's side can no longer be considered his team's 'rivals', considering the monumental statistical difference between the two teams in head-to-head battles. 

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Ishant Sharma Asia Cup 2025 Cricket