Former Pakistan batter Ramiz Raja, who also served as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president in the past, has made a shocking claim ahead of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Super 4s match. Arch rivals India and Pakistan are set to face each other in the second Super 4s match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 21, in Dubai. The match is scheduled to take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium from 8:00 PM IST. Ahead of the high-voltage match, while speaking on a Pakistani channel, Ramiz has said that the current Pakistani team, which is playing in the Asia Cup 2025 under the leadership of all-rounder Salman Ali Agha, is not capable of defeating any of the top five teams in the world.
Ramiz’s reaction came when he was asked
about his opinion on the return of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to the Pakistani T20I side.
“They (Babar and Rizwan) should definitely return to Pakistan’s T20I team. Pakistan have touched two extremes regarding selection and regarding performance. You need to decide for how long you’re going to lose these kinds of one-sided matches. I have seen this current team from very close quarters. I feel this team has the ability to defeat the sixth- or seventh-ranked team in the world. Against the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th ranked teams, we will win, but against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th ranked teams, we will get thrashed.”
— Hassss (@hssa_56) September 21, 2025
When asked if Pakistan can defeat any of the top five teams? Ramiz said, “Bahut mushkil hai (It’s very difficult). Mujhe nahi lagta ki is waqt… (I don’t think so at this point…).”
In the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, Pakistan faced India in the Group A match on Sunday, September 14, in Dubai as well, and in that fixture, the Salman Ali Agha-led side suffered a humiliating defeat by 7 wickets. The Pakistani team, after opting to bat first, could only manage to post a total of 127/9 in 20 overs, which was chased down by Suryakumar Yadav-led Team India in 15.5 overs for the loss of just three wickets.
For the eight-time champions, Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets in that fixture to bag the Player of the Match award, and two Pakistani batters each were sent back to the pavilion by Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.
