Indian PM Narendra Modi drops witty one-liner to decide India vs. Pakistan cricket war

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in on the India-Pakistan rivalry debate while exclaiming that recent results put India ahead.

Indian PM Narendra Modi drops witty one-liner to decide India vs. Pakistan cricket war

Narendra Modi weighed in on the India-Pakistan rivalry debate (via X)

In a rare event, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently weighed in on the ever-popular and intense India-Pakistan cricket rivalry. He took a witty dig at Pakistan by stating that ‘results speak for themselves’ and also opened up on his choices in various sports.

India and Pakistan share an intense cricket rivalry that has continued for the ages. An India-Pakistan match has always been considered a marquee event in any ICC competition. It has been attracting millions of viewers across the world. The two nations have faced each other 136 times in ODIs, with Pakistan having the upper hand. The Men in Green have won 73 matches, ahead of India’s 58 wins.

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However, in recent times, India has enjoyed an advantage over its archrivals, winning most of the encounters. The two teams faced each other in the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. India continued its dominance with a thumping win. Virat Kohli scored a fine century to take his team over the line, as the Men in Blue went on to subsequently win the Champions Trophy.

Apart from cricket analysts and former players, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared his thoughts on the great cricket rivalry. Modi’s comments came during his recent appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast. He also touched upon various aspects of sports and its unifying powers. The Indian PM also added that sports bring nations together and are therefore a contributor to human evolution.

While responding to the question of which is the better team between India and Pakistan, Modi cleverly stated that he does not possess the technical know-how of cricket, and only experts can comment on it. However, Modi added that in order to find the better side, results could be a good option to look at. He settled the debate by stating that India’s recent results speak for themselves, pointing to the CT win.

Coming to the question of who’s better and who’s not, I’m not an expert… But sometimes, the results speak for themselves. Just a few days ago, India and Pakistan played a match. The result reveals who is better.

Indian PM Narendra Modi on India-Pakistan rivalry (H/T DD News)

Additionally, the Indian Prime Minister was asked about his pick for the best football player of all time. To this, he replied by saying that Argentinian legend Diego Maradona was the best in the 1980s. He also claimed that in the recent days, he would pick Lionel Messi as the best player.

2025 Champions Trophy leaves hosts Pakistan with substantial financial losses

The Pakistan Cricket Board is said to have incurred massive financial losses from hosting the 2025 Champions Trophy in the previously ignored country. Several media reports revealed that the PCB has incurred a hefty loss of around $100 million after the marquee ICC event.

Pakistan Cricket Board Champions Trophy loss
Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly incurred losses of around $100 million at the end of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. (via NDTV Sports)

An ICC event returned to Pakistan after a 29-year gap, with the last one being the ICC World Cup in 1996, which it co-hosted alongside India and Sri Lanka. Despite the tournament being held in Pakistan, neighbors India refused to travel to the country due to security concerns. As a result, India’s matches were played in Dubai. The Champions Trophy final was also played in the Middle East.

The Pakistani team also failed to perform well, bowing out of the competition in the group stages. The PCB, after having hosted the tournament, now seems to have burnt a huge hole in their pockets. The board’s massive spending on upgrading the CT venues, event preparations, and other match-related activities has left them with losses surging up to $100 million.

Adding to their problems, the PCB’s revenue from the competition was just $6 million. To compensate for the significant financial shortfalls, the board has enacted drastic measures. It most recently slashed the match fees for the national T20 championship by an astonishing 90 percent.