Pakistan's batting frailties were once again exposed in their Asia Cup 2025 match against India in Dubai. The decision to drop Babar Azam ahead of the tournament was seen as a move to inject aggression at the top of the order.
Instead, the same concerns resurfaced as Sahibzada Farhan crawled to 40 off 44 balls - leaving Pakistan short of momentum in a match where India dominated from start to finish.
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Shoaib Akhtar questions Sahibzada Farhan's strike rate against India
Reacting to Farhan's innings, Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan's long-standing strike rate issues remain unresolved despite major selection changes. He pointed out that the approach looked eerily similar to what fans and experts had criticised in the past.
"I live in Dubai and am aware of the conditions, but again, the current team has a different approach of thinking. I played cricket for 25 years, but they might know better (sarcasm). I don't have words to analyse their performance today. We discussed the same thing six months ago. Same thing, same management, same coaches, same strike rate, same skillset issues, weird coaching, weird system, I don't know. I really don't know what to say,” Akhtar said on the post-match show.
Akhtar also took aim at the team's choices before a ball was bowled. He argued that electing to bat first on a surface traditionally favouring chasing sides gave India an immediate advantage.
Selection calls further compounded the problem with Pakistan opting for an extra spinner instead of bolstering their pace attack. Farhan’s cautious knock was one of the few double-digit scores in an innings riddled with soft dismissals.
Five of Pakistan's top seven batters failed to cross ten runs - leaving the lower order to salvage respectability. India's spinners, particularly Kuldeep Yadav, once again dictated terms, underlining how little Pakistan had learned from past encounters.
The result leaves Pakistan searching for answers ahead of their next possible clash with India on September 21. For now, as Akhtar made clear, simply swapping names at the top has not solved the deeper strike rate problem that continues to haunt their batting.
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