• Source:PTI
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India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi steered clear of giving a direct response to Suryakumar Yadav's view that Indo-Pak games should not be considered a rivalry anymore due to India's dominance and insisted that his team's focus is on winning the Asia Cup.

Addressing the pre-match press conference ahead of their must-win last Super 4 game against Bangladesh here on Thursday, Afridi side-stepped queries on Suryakumar's assertion.

"That's his view, let him say. When we meet (in the likely Asia Cup final on Sunday), we will see kya hai, kya nahi. Tab dekh lenge. We are here to win the Asia Cup, and we will give our best effort for that," Afridi said.

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Suryakumar had stated that for a rivalry to be considered genuine, the gulf in results cannot be 12-3, which is where the India-Pakistan T20I head-to-head currently stands. The two teams have played each other twice in the ongoing tournament, and India have emerged as the comprehensive winner both times.

"Standards and rivalry are the same," he continued. "According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if [head-to-head] it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry. But 13-0, 10-1….I don't know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore. But yeah, I feel we played better cricket than them," Suryakumar had said.

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But the tensions between the two sides are running high after the Indian team refused to perform traditional handshakes before and after the games to show solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, in which Pakistan-backed terrorists were involved.

On his own form both with the bat and ball, and whether the team's fast bowlers have under-performed so far, Afridi said, "My job is to fulfil the role assigned to me, whether it is batting or bowling. Doesn't matter if I am injured or unwell. My job is to keep team morale high and perform well."

"It's not that we are not winning, we have won, but we haven't won against bigger teams. I don't think our fast bowlers are struggling. The T20 format is such that batsmen find it easier to hit on good wickets.

"But we should have more variation in our bowling, and we are striving for that."