Pakistan are ‘okay’ team now: Aakash Chopra’s response to Shahid Afridi’s forgiveness jibe
Using stats to back up his argument, Aakash Chopra has responded to Shahid Afridi’s ‘forgiveness’ remark saying that Pakistan are an ‘okay’ team now. Chopra even went on to say that it was during Afridi’s time with the team that India started taking control of the head to head rivalry.
The India-Pakistan rivalry, particularly in cricket, is one of the biggest ones across the sporting world. While it is Pakistan who still holds the advantage as far as head to head (86-70) contests are concerned, the rivalry has been thoroughly dominated by India in recent years.
Recently, Afridi had claimed that India would ask for forgiveness after games against Pakistan due to the one sided nature of the rivalry. Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has now taken a jibe back at the Pakistan legend stating that it was during his time that the tables turned in the rivalry.
"Pakistan team used to be good at one point. It is still an okay team today. But there was a time when India used to play against Pakistan at Sharjah and the balance was tilted towards the neighbouring nation. But it was not the ‘Afridi time’ that he is talking about," Chopra said on Aakash Vaani.
“Pakistan’s strength was sheer talent - from Imran Khan to Wasim Akram to Waqar Younis. Because of it, they did really well. They used to beat India, there is no doubt about that. But later, when Afridi started playing and till the time he retired, things had changed.
"If you look at the stats, we played 15 Tests, each of us have won 5 Tests each. In ODIs, you have won two more games than us. The stat is 41-39 in your favour in 82 games, so well done. But I doubt that anyone is going to ask for forgiveness for just losing two more games.
“During Afridi’s time, the scenario was balanced, in fact it was starting to tilt in favour of India. And if we talk about the current scenario, there is quite a difference."
But Chopra wasn’t done with his explanation. The 42-year-old then went on to explain how India have dominated with the stakes raised, pointing to Pakistan’s embarrassing record (0-7) against their arch-rivals in World Cup matches. After shedding light on the lopsided T20 head to head between the two countries, Chopra also talked about how the current Indian team is able to win away from home as well, something, he believes, their Pakistani counterparts have failed to achieve.
"But when you talk about T20I, the format in which you were really good, India lead the head-to-head contest by 7-1. Isn’t the story told backwards? Maybe, he (Afridi) wanted to say something else, and he said something else. I am really surprised,” Chopra added.
“If you look at World Cup records, you will find India have gone quite ahead. You always remember the 2017 Champions Trophy final, but even in that tournament India had beaten Pakistan once in the tournament. India’s dominance is of a different kind. When India travel to Australia, they beat Australia. When Pakistan travel to Australia, they lose by quite a fair margin. There is a lot of difference between the two teams at this time.”