DUBAI: At a time when Pakistan’s cricket team has been panned left, right and centre by many of the country’s former players – now experts on TV shows – and the disgruntled public, there is someone who is not willing to be as harsh on Mohammad Rizwan & Co. In an exclusive interview with TOI from London, where he currently lives, former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal asserted that “nothing is wrong with Pakistan cricket,” while pointing out that “no one is talking about what’s wrong with English cricket.”
Like Pakistan, England too were knocked out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, when they lost their first two matches in Group B to Australia and Afghanistan at Lahore.
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“Nothing is wrong with Pakistan cricket. The other teams are playing better cricket than Pakistan. Whether batting first or chasing, we lost because our opponents played better cricket than us. Why is no one talking about what’s wrong with English cricket? Batting first, they couldn’t defend 351, and batting second, they couldn’t chase down 326. I have a totally different view on this,” Iqbal told TOI.
Summing up Pakistan’s six-wicket defeat to India at the Dubai International Stadium beautifully in one line, Iqbal, 82, who played 58 Tests and 10 ODIs for Pakistan between 1964 to 1980, said, “We were outplayed in every department, except the toss!”

“The reason for this hype is the expectation of the supporters of both teams that their team is better than their opponents and not realistic enough to accept that the present Indian team is on the top of rankings and we are at the bottom,” Iqbal said.
Explaining his point, Iqbal said, “Look, I want to emphasise here that the expectations of the Indian and Pakistani fans makes an Indo-Pak contest look like the clash of the titans. The fact is that you call it a clash of the titans when, for example, in tennis, No 1 ranked player plays a No 3, or No 4 ranked player, it will be billed as the clash of the titans. However, if a superstar and all-time great like Novak Djokovic plays a 100th ranked player in the second round, he will be expected to win, and if he loses, it will be termed as a ‘shock’. Likewise, if Pakistan beat India, or any other team, in an ICC event, that other team must have a very bad day. And I’m not belittling Pakistan here, but stating the reality. Pakistan has lost to a second-string South Africa and New Zealand at home recently. So, for me, it wasn’t a surprise that they lost to India and New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Ultimately, these are the players that we have. It’s better to give them confidence. TV pe gaali-goj (criticising them) won’t help.”
While India aren’t playing a match at Sharjah, a place where Iqbal was instrumental in starting international cricket and once a famous venue for India-Pakistan matches, the Pakistan great was saddened by India refusing to travel to Pakistan to play their matches in the 2025 Champions Trophy. “More importantly India is not playing in Pakistan in an ICC tournament. Really sad.” he said.

Raving about Indian superstar Virat Kohli, who bounced back into form by scoring his 51st ODI hundred, against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night, Iqbal said, “Yet again, Virat has shown that form is temporary, but class is permanent. The beauty about Virat is that when the stakes are higher, his concentration levels go up, and his delivery rate goes higher. It’s amazing how he manages to keep doing this,” Iqbal gushed.
Impressed by how the likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have added muscle to India’s ODI batting line-up, he said, “India are fortunate to have the best bench strength in the cricketing world. If someone is injured or unavailable, they immediately have someone to replace him. It means a lot for the future of their game. Not many teams have this luxury.”
Praising Afghanistan for their fine show in ICC tournaments, Iqbal said, “Before the tournament began, I had said that I expected Afghanistan to beat at least one top ranked team in their group, and they’ve done that by beating England. They are building into a good side, one of the top teams in world cricket.”