(Video) Suryakumar Yadav, with a Smile, Concluded There Is No Rivalry Between India and Pakistan Anymore

India captain gives the reference of head to head statistics between the two sides to squash the 'rivalry' narrative.

(Video) Suryakumar Yadav, with a Smile, Concluded There Is No Rivalry Between India and Pakistan Anymore

In background- Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Shaheen Afridi; In circle- Suryakumar Yadav (Image via NDTV Sports)

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Multiple stories continue to come out of the India vs. Pakistan match. It is either from the cricket that takes place, or from the post match player antics or even from the press conferences later on.

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav after his famous reply on the no-handshake fiasco in his previous press conference has come up with one more such bold statement. This time around it has to do more with the on-field rivalry between the two teams.

When asked about the rivalry between the two sides Suryakumar Yadav took no time to brush it off with a smile as he gave an honest reply to conclude any such rivalry claims in future.

I would actually like to say something about this entire rivalry concept. You guys should stop asking about the rivalry. If the two teams are playing 15-20 games and the scoreline is 7-7 or 8-7, then it is called rivalry. If the scoreline is 10-1 or 13-0, I don’t know the exact number but this is not a rivalry anymore.

Suryakumar Yadav in post match press conference

India captain didn’t mince any words before trashing the term ‘rivalry’ for India vs. Pakistan matches. In reality as well the rivalry between the two sides has fallen off the cliff in the last decade or so. The yester years saw both teams best each other quite often making it an uncertain result and kept the fans glued.

Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Rahul Dravid, Shoaib Akhtar and many such Indian and Pakistani legends were part of the rivalry that actually looked like a fierce contest on the field. Unfortunately for the fans, India in the last decade have made sure there is no rivalry with beating Pakistan regularly in all the multinational tournaments the two teams play in.

Apart from a couple of wins here and there, Pakistan has been unable to really get the better of India often. It is not the best sign for world cricket as this rivalry often takes the whole world by storm. Pakistan would really have to step their game up if they are to keep the fire ignited between the two countries going forward.

India extended their winning streak over Pakistan, making it 7-0

Suryakumar Yadav didn’t mince his words trashing the rivalry between the two sides. He had enough reason to do that though with India now beating Pakistan in seven straight India vs. Pakistan clashes. The last time Pakistan beat India was back in 2022 at the Asia Cup when they had chased a total in excess of 180 against the men in blue.

Back then Pakistan was also going through some good times in world cricket. They had beaten India at the 2021 T20 World Cup as well before they bowed out to Australia in the semifinals. The following year they made it to the finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup as well.

Abhishek Sharma celebrates fifty against Pakistan
Abhishek Sharma (via Mint)

However, post that, Pakistan cricket has also gone down the valley and so has their numbers against India. The format too didn’t make much of a difference as the numbers still remained skewed heavily in India’s favor.

Post the 2022 Asia Cup, both teams competed at the 2022 T20 World Cup. The match was in the pockets of the Pakistani players as they had dominated India for more than 75% of the game. However, it was the genius of Virat Kohli that made India steal victory from the jaws of defeat.

India took back the momentum in these big matches as they thrashed the supposed archrivals in back-to-back Asia Cup and World Cup matches in 2023. The 2024 T20 World Cup saw another close contest, another match that was Pakistan’s to win but a lack of confidence against the dominant India made them mess up that opportunity as well.

2025 has also seen them go down to India now thrice. Twice in the ongoing Asia Cup and once in the Champions Trophy clash that took place earlier this year.

The Pakistan fans could argue that the overall stats suggest Pakistan has won more cricket matches against India, than their counterparts. The men in green have won 88 to the 79 India has won. However, those numbers are in that fashion because of the past generational talents that Pakistan would produce. The present reality exposes a vast difference in skill between the two nations and if anything is adding spice, it is the off-field drama.

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