Asia Cup 2025: Ishant Sharma shares his thoughts on why he feels bad for Pakistan cricket team

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The long-standing cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan has always been a spectacle of intense emotion, captivating billions of fans across the globe. However, after India’s comprehensive victories over Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, the narrative surrounding this historic rivalry has shifted. Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has weighed in on the debate, offering a candid and poignant perspective that has resonated with many. His recent remarks suggest that the once-balanced contest has become a one-sided affair, with the current Pakistan team struggling under a different kind of pressure.

Ishant, a seasoned campaigner who has played in many high-stakes encounters, expressed genuine empathy for the current generation of Pakistan players. Speaking during the Raj Shamani podcast, he believes their biggest opponent isn’t India, but the immense pressure they face from their own passionate, and often unforgiving, fanbase.

Speaking on a podcast, Sharma articulated this feeling by saying, “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.”

This highlights a significant psychological burden that has become a defining feature of this modern rivalry. Unlike in the past, where the pressure was shared equally, India’s recent dominance has made Pakistan’s losses feel like a betrayal to their supporters, creating a suffocating environment that often leads to on-field collapses. The numbers on the scoreboard support Ishant’s perspective. India’s recent victories in the Asia Cup have extended their dominant T20I head-to-head record against Pakistan to a lopsided 11-3.

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Ishant drew a sharp contrast between the Pakistan team of today and the legendary sides he faced in his career. He stated that the true intensity of the rivalry was felt during the era of cricketing giants like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi. These players were not just competitors; they were formidable forces who inspired genuine fear in opponents. “The pressure will be high but that was more during the time when they had great players like Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Afridi….these were great players,”

Ishant believes that the current team simply does not possess the same caliber of talent or infrastructure to compete with India’s cricketing juggernaut. “The kind of talent, exposure, and infrastructure we have they are not even close.” This analysis points to a wider truth about the two cricketing nations. While India has built a robust and well-funded cricketing ecosystem, Pakistan’s system has struggled to produce a consistent pipeline of world-class talent, widening the gap between the two sides.

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