Sunil Gavaskar was speaking after India defeated Pakistan in their Champions Trophy 2025 match.
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that even India’s B side can beat the current Pakistan outfit. His comments come in the aftermath of India’s six-wicket win over Pakistan in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy on February 23. The loss meant that Mohammad Rizwan’s side had no chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. They were officially eliminated after New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh on February 24.
Gavaskar told Sports Today, “I think a B team certainly (can give Pakistan a run for their money). C team, I am not too sure. But a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form. It’s surprising—this lack of bench strength. Pakistan always had natural talent. They may not have always been technically perfect, but they had an instinctive understanding of the game. Look at Inzamam-ul-Haq, for example. His stance wasn’t something you’d teach a youngster, but he had great temperament, and that made all the difference.”
The Men in Green had also endured a league-stage exit at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Plus, they were ousted from the group stage at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
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Pakistan had won the toss and opted to bat first against India in Dubai. They were 52/2 at the end of the first powerplay. Later, Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) forged a 104-run stand for the third wicket. After Rizwan was dismissed in the 34th over, Pakistan started losing wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 241.
India lost skipper Rohit Sharma in the fifth over of their chase but the Men in Blue were largely untroubled. Shubman Gill scored 46 runs off 52 balls whereas Virat Kohli registered a memorable unbeaten century. Kohli and Shreyas Iyer forged a 114-run stand for the third wicket which set the platform for India’s comfortable victory.
India will next lock horns against New Zealand on Sunday (March 2) in their final group stage match. Both teams have already qualified for the semi-finals. However, the Group A standings are yet to be determined as they will be based on the NRR after the said fixture. Meanwhile, the defending champions will hope to sign off on a winning note when they face Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.
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