Asia Cup 2025: ‘Agendas at play’ - Mohammad Amir fires back at Pakistan critics
Pakistan suffered defeat against India but still qualified for the Super Four.
Pakistan faced heavy criticism from former cricketers and fans alike following their poor performance in the Asia Cup 2025. However, former pacer Mohammad Amir came out in support of skipper Salman Ali Agha and his team, slamming ex-players for demotivating the young side amid the backlash despite the team winning two out of three Group A fixtures.
India produced a dominant display in their clash against the Men in Green in Dubai on Sunday. After winning the toss, the Pakistan captain opted to bat first, but the decision backfired as they were restricted to just 127/9 in 20 overs. In response, the Men in Blue chased down the target comfortably in 15.5 overs, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls.
"Kuchh logo ko main dekh raha hu apna hi agenda leke baith gaye hain. Yeh kisko leke aaye ho, ye uska muqabla karega? Matlab ki ye log wait kar rahe the ek match hare aur in baccho k peeche padh jaye." (I am seeing a few people have started propagating their own agendas. Why is this player on the team? How does he compete with that player? It is like they were waiting for Pakistan to lose one match to start criticising these youngsters.)" Amir posted a video on social media as quoted by NDTV.
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61In this edition of the Asia Cup, Pakistan opted to leave out senior players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan following their repeated failures in the shortest format. While Amir did not mention anyone by name, he stressed that youngsters deserve backing, pointing out that even the experienced players had failed to deliver anything significant.
"Aap in bachho ke peeche aise padh gaye ho. Jin player o ka naam le rahe ho, who experienced the. Panch-panch chhay-chhay saal khele hain, kaptaniya ki hain, sara kuchh kiya hain. Yeh bacche ek match kya flop huye hain, aaplog to yaar saaare peeche padh gaye ho." (The players you are talking about were experienced. They have played for more than five-six years, captained the team, done everything. These kids have just flopped one game, and you all have started criticising them. Have patience.),” said Amir.
"Jinki aap baat kar rahe ho na, kisine kuchh nahi ukhada. Paanch-paanch chhay-chhay saalo mein kisine kuchh nahi ukhada. Sab ke paas performances hain, stats bhi hain, kisine kuchh nahi ukhada." (The players you all are talking about have done nothing great. They have played for five to six years, and everyone has their stats and performances; no one has done anything great.),” he added.
Speaking of the Pakistani side, they have already qualified for the Super Four of the ongoing tournament, and will be playing their first game of the stage against arch-rivals India on September 21 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Their next two opponents in the Super Four are yet to be decided, but will be confirmed after the Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka match on Thursday.
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