Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has advised that Pakistan should ideally avoid playing against India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, fearing a humiliating defeat. Drawing parallels to the World Championship of Legends, where India refused to face Pakistan due to earlier political tensions — including the Pahalgam conflict — Basit suggested that India should once again decline the fixture.
India and Pakistan are set to clash on September 14 in Dubai, with the possibility of meeting twice more if both teams reach the Super Four stage and the final. However, Basit believes that facing India in Pakistan’s current form could be disastrous.
“𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆,” 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏.
Poor Form Pakistan, Basit Ali Raises Concerns
Pakistan recently suffered a 3-match ODI series defeat against the West Indies, highlighting their poor form and lack of confidence heading into the Asia Cup. Basit Ali expressed concern that another heavy defeat against India could demoralize the entire nation.
According to the former batter, losses against certain teams are easier to digest:
“𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒇𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒇𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.
Clash of Arch-Rivals in Doubt?
While the high-profile India vs Pakistan encounter is a major draw for cricket fans, Basit Ali’s comments underline the psychological and emotional stakes of the match. With Pakistan struggling for form and India in strong shape, the September 14 clash is already being billed as a high-pressure showdown — if it happens at all.
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