Ex-Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif complimented Team India for withstanding pressure well during Pakistan's batting in the Asia Cup 2025 final, believing that Men in Green could never get their momentum back from that point of the game.
The arch-rivals faced each other at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, where the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team won the title, extending the team's record-breaking ninth championship victory.
Latif emphasized how India's spinners made a difference during the 15th to 17th overs of Pakistan's innings, praising the team's awareness of the moment.
"It was not that Pakistan bowled that well, but that India did not bat that well. The Pakistan captain didn't put pressure. When Indian spinners Kuldeep, Axar, and Varun picked wickets in 15 to 17 overs, Pakistan was unable to get back in the game.". India's awareness of the game and how they managed the situation were extremely strong. Abrar dismissing Sanju was a point where the game could have been turned around, but then Haris bowled and gave 17 runs — that was an incorrect decision by Pakistan," Latif said to IANS.
The 56-year-old also spoke against Haris Rauf, terming the right-arm pacer as 'too predictable.' He further stated that Rauf must learn to bowl with the new ball instead of being dependent on the old ball if he needs to excel in white-ball cricket.
“Haris Rauf is too predictable, while Shaheen Afridi was fine. His disadvantage is that he doesn’t bowl with the new ball, and he needs to work on that. The coaching staff hasn’t focused on this aspect at all — they’ve only made him bowl with the old ball. If Haris wants to survive in international ODI and T20I cricket, he'll have to practice bowling with the new ball,” he added.
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