The debate whether the India vs Pakistan match still excites crowds, critics & experts has garnered steam after the two Asian teams are set to clash in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 event, starting on September 09 to 28. However, with the recent political equation between the two neighboring countries in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack & India's response of Operation Sindoor has given this fixture has an altogether different perspective.
However, another angle has caught the attention of the onlookers - Is the India vs Pakistan rivalry still the biggest? While the huge money involved in this matches tells a story, the recent one-sided matches has made this rivalry lose interest among fans. The last time these two Asian teams met was during the Champions Trophy 2025 event, where India comfortably got the better of Pakistan. Before that, the two teams had met in the T20 World Cup 2024, where against India emerged on top.
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Pakistan last managed to beat India in the T20 World Cup 2021 event - Also their first & only win against the arch-rivals in World Cup history. Since that loss, India have turned a corner and have literally dominated games against their opponents across both white-ball formats. However, with INR 1400 crore at stake, a lot of experts feels the match between IND vs PAK in Asia Cup 2025 should proceed.
However, with the latest political equation, a lot of fans are against India playing Pakistan. They feel that by playing the game, they will let down the Indian Military Army, which, not long ago, fought courageously amidst terror strikes from Pakistan.
Is the IND vs PAK match still the ultimate rivalry?
Amidst the calls of India boycotting the Asia Cup 2025 match against Pakistan, the latter's recent form also paints a altogether different picture. Recently, in an ODI match against West Indies, Pakistan were shot out for just 92. Barring home & away wins against Bangladesh earlier this year, the Men in Green have cut a sorry picture in the ODI format. Statisticians always point out the one-sided results between India & Pakistan matches. Considering these two teams will potentially meet three times in the Continental Cup, one wonders if the match will be a closely contested game or if it will again be a one-sided affair.
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Notably, India vs England & India vs Australia games have generated significant revenue in recent years. The recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy recorded the highest-ever viewership numbers for digital broadcasters. Also, the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy & the 2024 series Down Under have become the highest-grossing bilateral cricket events to date.
For IND vs PAK to achieve this stupendous graph, the quality of cricket should be riveting, and not the one-sided bore ones. India competing in the Asia Cup will guarantee two things - assured financial gains through media rights for both boards; secondly making the relationship stronger ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 event set to be held in India & Sri Lanka.
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India vs Pakistan in the last 15 years
- ODI Matches - 17
- India wins - 12
- Pakistan wins - 4
- No Result - 1
- T20I Matches - 13
- India wins - 10
- Pakistan wins - 3
