"Record Against India Is 8-0": PCB Selector's Brutal Reality Check After Pakistan's T20 World Cup Exit
Former Pakistan cricketer and current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selector Aaqib Javed defended the team that got eliminated in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026.
- Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed defended the team's results in the T20 World Cup 2026
- "The world's best captains have played the Ind vs Pak match, but the result is still 8-0," Javed said
- "It is an issue, but not so big that you'll say our cricket has been destroyed," he added
Former Pakistan cricketer and current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selector Aaqib Javed defended the team that got eliminated in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. Pakistan suffered a heavy 61-run loss to arch-rivals India and ultimately failed to make the semi-finals. However, Javed downplayed the nature of Pakistan's exit, stating that even legendary captains from the past also failed to beat India on the global stage. He also stated that Pakistan had lost just one match (in the Super 8), and therefore there is no crisis at hand.
"India-Pakistan matches are very important for us, and we get very hurt emotionally. But we haven't been able to beat them till date. 8-0 is the record," Javed said at a press conference.
"The world's best captains have played the match, right from 1975 to 2026. We've had players from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, but the result is still 8-0," he added.
India hold an 8-0 head-to-head advantage over Pakistan in the ODI World Cup. In the T20 World Cup, Pakistan have only beaten India once, in 2021. In the shortest format, Pakistan trail India 8-1 on the global stage.
Javed defended Pakistan's performance in the T20 World Cup by pointing out that they only lost one out of three Super 8 matches.
"Once we reached the second round (Super 8), we one match got washed out by rain. And then we lost one match. Nothing else has happened, right?" Javed said.
Pakistan's first Super 8 game against eventual runners-up New Zealand was abandoned due to rain. The Salman Ali Agha-led side suffered a narrow defeat to England in their second game.
Pakistan needed to win their third match - against Sri Lanka - by a margin of 64 runs or more, but failed to do so.
"I don't think winning by the margin that was required against Sri Lanka on that pitch was achievable. We did not qualify for the semi-finals on net-run-rate.
"It is an issue, but not so big that you'll say our cricket has been destroyed and that we are of no use anymore," he stated.
Pakistan Cricket Team