‘Very sad players were denied that on field’: Mohammad Kaif reacts to India not getting to celebrate Asia Cup 2025 final win over Pakistan | Cricket News

“What hurts is that the Indian team deserved that trophy moment, they earned the right to celebrate and pose for photos with it after all their hard work, especially after Tilak Varma’s remarkable unbeaten innings that won the final. With captain Suryakumar Yadav leading this young team, these moments become lifelong memories for all, the kind that inspire young players to aspire for India, just like seeing the 1983 World Cup trophy did for us. It’s very sad the players were denied that on the field, though the trophy will come to them later,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

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Kaif also praised Tilak Varma for the way he soaked up the pressure after India were tottering at 20/3. He also complimented Shivam Dube for grabbing his chance in the summit clash on Sunday.

“Chasing wasn’t straightforward since India lost three early wickets. Tilak Varma deserves high praise for calmly soaking up the pressure and finishing unbeaten. He goes unbeaten and wins you games if you look at his record, he did it thrice here as well. I feel that because Abhishek got out early, Gill and Suryakumar Yadav got out the game got tricky. But Tilak played well. Dube has to be praised as well. He does not get enough opportunities but when he does he plays cameos and match-winning knocks,” he said.

Targetting Haris Rauf was the turning point, feels Mohammad Kaif

The Indian batters found the going tough when the Pakistani spinners were bowling during the chase. Kaif felt that the turning point came when Haris Rauf came on to bowl as a higher pace on the ball helped the batters to play more freely.

“The turning point was to target Haris Rauf. This was the plan. When the spinners were bowling there were difficulties. But when Rauf came to bowl, they felt they could target him and his pace. He does not have a lot of variations. The biggest smartness by India in this game was the calculation they did. Haris went for 50 runs off four overs. Smashing him showed that the game plan was solid. In pressure games, you need to use your mind. Many players have skills. But with this pressure, the one who uses his brain is the match-winner,” the former India batter said.

India’s next T20I assignment will be against Australia in October, where they will play five matches Down under.