Would it have been better to have stuck to the country’s original, principled decision and not played the match against India this past Sunday? This question will undoubtedly be on the minds of many fans after the manner in which Pakistan lost their group stage clash against their arch rivals in the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup. In fact, is it even appropriate to call ourselves India’s perennial rival anymore? Of the 17 T20 internationals played between the two countries, Pakistan has won just three. The last time we beat India in a T20 was all the way back in the 2022 Asia Cup. Strip away the history and the politics, and there is not much left in this ‘rivalry’. At least, Pakistan showed nothing to indicate otherwise on Sunday. India won by a handy 61 runs and outclassed the men in green with both bat and ball. As usual, Pakistan was particularly woeful with the latter, getting bowled within 18 overs for just 114 runs. Seven batters failed to post even double-figures, including many of our so-called ‘stars’. Apart from a spirited 44 runs by Usman Khan and good showing by Saim Ayub with the ball, there was little in this match for Pakistan’s legions of fans to feel good about.
The performance was so bad that most have likely forgotten all about whether or not there was a handshake between the two captains (there wasn’t) and all the other pre- and post-match ceremonial controversies that dominated the country’s previous clash with India in last year’s Asia Cup. That being said, Pakistanis are a hard lot to dispirit. One has to be in order to survive being Pakistani. Many will say that even though we have lost badly to India, it is still only the group stages and this result does not mean the end of the tournament for us. After all, we have lost to India in the early stages of major tournaments before only to go on and win them. However, there are drawbacks to this resilient mentality. For one, it tends to skip the fact that things are not getting any better when it comes to our cricket. We are failing not just against India. The team seems to increasingly struggle not just against the top sides, but against lower ranked competition too. Take Pakistan’s first series loss in T20 internationals to Bangladesh last year, for example.
The only thing the country’s cricketing scene seems to have going for it is the PSL. And while glitz and glamour and also the money the tournament generates are great, the franchise tournament does not seem to have improved many of the structural issues with Pakistani cricket. What talent it has produced or revealed still struggles to transition to the pros. Stars also still struggle for consistency once they make it big and the suspicion of favouritism continues to hang over squad selection. None of this can be fixed overnight, but it would be nice to see the cricketing authorities make at least some progress towards doing so. In the meantime, one can only hope that this result will not define how the rest of the tournament goes.
