India’s legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin did not hold back as he criticised Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf for his disappointing performance in the T20 Asia Cup 2025. Ashwin said lauded Tilak Varma for his knock, anchoring the run chase when the top-order departed in the powerplay overs.
"Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he made of veins of ice. Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"Tilak Varma soaked the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square off the wicket.
“People think that it is easy to hit this shot (six to Rauf) but falling in the line and picking it up is difficult," he added.
Rauf had a poor outing in the final, conceding 50 runs from 3.4 overs. He remained wicketless in the game. There were many who suggested that Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz deserved to bowl more overs, rather than Rauf who leaked boundaries at crucial stages of the game.
Ashwin lauds India’s spin duo
Ashwin lauded spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav for staging India’s comeback after a strong start by Pakistan. From scoring nearly at 10 runs per over, they were bowled out for 146. He rated Sri Lanka batters higher for their ability to play Indian spinners.
"I would like to give credit to Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. It was a next level comeback. Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave them a superb start. However, this is difference between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka handed our spinners beautifully and even made the right shot selection. If you look at teams in Asia, Pakistan have very good players of spin. However, it is big match pressure. There are many people in the Indian team who can face this pressure," the 39-year-old said.
Kuldeep in a league of his own
Kuldeep was the bowler of the tournament as he picked up 17 wickets from even appearances at an average of 9.29, including two four-fers. Only Shaheen Afridi had wickets in double digits in Asia Cup.