Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif lavished praise on India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav for his captaincy during the Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan. Surya, who was leading India for the first time in a multiteam tournament, scored winning runs during India's second Group Stage clash against Pakistan and finished off the proceedings with a six to guide his team to a seven-wicket win against Pakistan.
Kaif, who also featured for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in his playing days, praised Suryakumar Yadav for not losing focus during the clash against Pakistan despite a massive social media noise.
"Suryakumar Yadav emerges as a true leader in this Asia Cup. Scoring winning runs in a high-pressure game, marshalling the bowlers intelligently, not losing focus despite social media noise. SKY is a complete captain" Mohammad Kaif posted.
India vs Pakistan boycott
The recently concluded clash between India and Pakistan faced a lot of criticism, as this was the first outing between the neighbouring nations after the Pahalgam terror attack. There were growing demands from fans to not have any sporting relations with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
However, after guiding India to a seven-wicket win against Pakistan, Suryakumar Yadav dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces and the victims of the recent Pahalgam terror attack. Apart from that, Team India refused to shake hands with Pakistan during the toss and after the clash as well.
“We stand by the victims of the families of the Pahalgam terror attack. We express our solidarity. Want to dedicate the win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation in Dubai.
Defending champions India have sealed their berth for the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2025, which will take place on September 21 at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.