The Asian white-ball hierarchy

[Nikhil_cric]

Considering the last 2 white ball ICC tournaments, it's pretty safe to say India and Afghanistan are the top 2 Asian sides in white ball cricket.

How does it look after these two sides though?

Can Pakistan be considered the 3rd best Asian white ball side or is there a serious challenger there in Bangladesh considering how BD actually managed to get into Super 8's.


Id go

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Nepal.


Post your current Asian white ball rankings and thoughts.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Forgot about Lanka

So my new hierarchy would be

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal

 

[Civil]

If we are talking tournament whiteball ...on our current form any of the teams including Nepal would be higher.

That being said if we are talkin bilateral type controlled environment where you could have even number of games in all conditions at each other's home grounds etc. Pak would come higher than last.

We just don't have the tourney mentality. Mentally we are worst out of all asian teams.

 

[Devadwal]

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Lanka
Bangladesh
Nepal

 

[RyanRyan10]

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
UAE
Nepal
Oman
Hong Kong
Malaysia

 

[WengerOut]

Pakistan would beat Afg atleast in 8 out of 10 matches anywhere in the world. Ban would beat them as well.. SL could be the team in danger because of Afg

 

[Unbiased-Fan]

India - Only dominating team from Asia
Afghanistan - Quick learners
Pakistan - Great bowling unit
Srilanka -Can beat any big team on their day
Bangladesh - Still learning from 2000

 

[IndoorCricket]

So Afghanistan is up the pecking order over Bangladesh? Todays match may decide.

 

[Dhakar Pola]

India
Afghanistan = Pakistan
Srilanka
Nepal
UAE
Hong Kong
BD women team
Mongolia
Thailand
Japan
BD men team

 

[RexRex]

India
Afghanistan & Pakistan
Srilanka

 

[DeadlyVenom]

India
India 2nd team ( this team can win any tournament according to Hardik)
India 3rd team (as above)
Pakistan domestic talent that doesn't get a chance due to cronyism
Pakistan 2nd team of domestic talent that doesn't get a chance due to cronyism
Afghanistan
Pakistan's actual team
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh


Thats how I rank them

 

[mrtaim3]

Pakistan would beat this Afghanistan team 8 out of 10 teams. Don’t go with our recent pathetic record. The last couple of years were the worst due to selection and politics.

 

[rhony]

Pakistan is currently playing on reputation. Show me one batsman in Pak that can match Gurbaz. Fakhar Zaman isn't the one as he's very inconsistent and limited. Show me one spinner in Pak team that can match Rashid. If Pak finds a dynamic opener and a wicket taking attacking spinner, they will start winning games. Other wise they might win against Afg on reputation with Afghans and Bangladeshis losing their minds under pressure.

 

[kach]

Im sure Pakistan have better players than the ones in Afghanistan national team, they are probably never selected because they do not have contacts.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Afghans reaffirming their #2 Asian status with this qualification

 

[Vikram1989]

Fans may differ on skil wise but Afghans are definitely second best mentally and big match temperament wise

 

[cricketcricket79]

Forgot about Lanka

So my new hierarchy would be

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal

the fact that you forgot about Sri Lanka tells all about where they stand in hierarchy. Sad but true that Sri Lanka has gone backwards big time. Afghanistan have comfortably overtaken Pakistan as second best team in Asia too.

 

[Usman Chadda]

the fact that you forgot about Sri Lanka tells all about where they stand in hierarchy. Sad but true that Sri Lanka has gone backwards big time. Afghanistan have comfortably overtaken Pakistan as second best team in Asia too.

Sri Lanka would smash this Pakistan team 10/10 times. They only recently embarrassed us in the Asia Cup in ODI and T20 formats.

Pakistan is most definitely the fourth or fifth best team in Asia right now. I fancy Bangladesh beating us too to be honest, the situation is that bad.

You just cannot lose to the USA at any level.

 

[cricketcricket79]

Sri Lanka would smash this Pakistan team 10/10 times. They only recently embarrassed us in the Asia Cup in ODI and T20 formats.

Pakistan is most definitely the fourth or fifth best team in Asia right now. I fancy Bangladesh beating us too to be honest, the situation is that bad.

You just cannot lose to the USA at any level.

I hear you. But still IMO Babr and Shaheen, Amir can win matches on their own when on song. Probably non- Pakistani fans rate these guys more than fellow Pakistanis.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Sri Lanka would smash this Pakistan team 10/10 times. They only recently embarrassed us in the Asia Cup in ODI and T20 formats.

Pakistan is most definitely the fourth or fifth best team in Asia right now. I fancy Bangladesh beating us too to be honest, the situation is that bad.

You just cannot lose to the USA at any level.

Sri Lanka have beaten PAK in 5 out of 5 of their last 5 T20I's.

But SL are a woeful ODI side.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Personally, I think Pakistan are still #2. But I can understand how recent performances have caused people to think otherwise.

But I don't believe Bangladesh are anywhere near Pakistan in any format. Even on their worst day, Pakistan would likely hammer Bangladesh.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

While performances in ICC tournaments are what matter, they can mislead you into thinking certain teams are better than others. For instance, Pakistan beat both of the finalists of the 2019 WC in that tournament. But quality-wise Pakistan weren't anywhere near either New Zealand or England.

That said, Afghanistan are comfortably a better T20 team than Pakistan right now. In ODIs, they can beat Pakistan or any other team on their day. But I still don't believe they are better ODI team than Pakistan.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

While performances in ICC tournaments are what matter, they can mislead you into thinking certain teams are better than others. For instance, Pakistan beat both of the finalists of the 2019 WC in that tournament. But quality-wise Pakistan weren't anywhere near either New Zealand or England.

That said, Afghanistan are comfortably a better T20 team than Pakistan right now. In ODIs, they can beat Pakistan or any other team on their day. But I still don't believe they are better ODI team than Pakistan.

Same for 2017 CT where Pakistan smashed India and England

 

[Mamoon]

I can understan they will push this hierarchy narrative to the max.

It is easy to do so when you are sitting pretty at the top and can talk about who is number two and number three when you have nothing to lose on your own, but Afghanistan is not better than Pakistan.

If they are doing better than Pakistan it is because Pakistan has allowed them to be better than them. It is up to Pakistan if Afghanistan do better than them or not.

Pakistan doesn’t have the talent, skill and resources to be better than India, Australia and England. They are very close to South Africa and New Zealand and ahead of the rest.

Pakistan will be better than Afghanistan again very soon, much to the disappointment of a lot of fans who will cook our ears with the hierarchy nonsense over the next few months.

 

[Red-Indian]

I can understand they will push this hierarchy narrative to the max.

It is easy to do so when you are sitting pretty at the top and can talk about who is number two and number three when you have nothing to lose on your own, but Afghanistan is not better than Pakistan.

If they are doing better than Pakistan it is because Pakistan has allowed them to be better than them. It is up to Pakistan if Afghanistan do better than them or not.

Pakistan doesn’t have the talent, skill and resources to be better than India, Australia and England. They are very close to South Africa and New Zealand and ahead of the rest.

Pakistan will be better than Afghanistan again very soon, much to the disappointment of a lot of fans who will cook our ears with the hierarchy nonsense over the next few months.

Man for man, Pakistan are clearly better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, they're disorganised, confused in their thinking and demotivated currently. In sport, that can count for a lot.

Where that places the 4 teams in some subcontinent heriarchy, I do not know but it feels like any game between these teams would be a toss-up. That is a travesty given Pakistan's cricket history, (cricket) financial status, talent pool and public following.

 

[light]

Forgot about Lanka

So my new hierarchy would be

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal

Bangladesh is definitely below Pakistan, it's not equal. Under Mashrafee was a different cases under this new silly captain and even Shakib, they have done down so much, it's not even a joke. It's more like India/AFG/pak/ bd=sl

 

[Mamoon]

Forgot about Lanka

So my new hierarchy would be

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal

Pakistan will beat Bangladesh 9/10 times even today so how are they equal.

I continue to be deeply unimpressed with Indian PPers of late. They haven’t been the same since November 19.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Pakistan will beat Bangladesh 9/10 times even today so how are they equal.

I continue to be deeply unimpressed with Indian PPers of late. They haven’t been the same since November 19.

Because, increasingly, bilateral cricket is irrelevant in white ball cricket.

Pakistan not going beyond the first round in both ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup counts heavily against them

 

[jeetu]

Presently on turning track Afghanistan and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is on par with Pakistan. Tough to pick winner especially in T20. Pakistan is ahead on flatter tracks or pace assisting tracks.

 

[Mamoon]

Because, increasingly, bilateral cricket is irrelevant in white ball cricket.

Pakistan not going beyond the first round in both ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup counts heavily against them

Bilateral cricket is the only measure of the relevant strength of two teams because they are directly competing with each other. It is common sense.

How far you progress in a tournament greatly depends on other factors as well. For example, being in different groups.

Pakistan may or may not have got to the Super 8 if they were in Group D and Bangladesh may or may not have got to the Super 8 if they were in Group A.

Pakistan will beat Bangladesh 9/10 times in any format in any conditions. Just like India will beat Pakistan. Therefore, it is ridiculous to assert that Pakistan is on par with Bangladesh just like it will be ridiculous to assert that Pakistan is on par with India.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Bilateral cricket is the only measure of the relevant strength of two teams because they are directly competing with each other. It is common sense.

How far you progress in a tournament greatly depends on other factors as well. For example, being in different groups.

Pakistan may or may not have got to the Super 8 if they were in Group D and Bangladesh may or may not have got to the Super 8 if they were in Group A.

Pakistan will beat Bangladesh 9/10 times in any format in any conditions. Just like India will beat Pakistan. Therefore, it is ridiculous to assert that Pakistan is on par with Bangladesh just like it will be ridiculous to assert that Pakistan is on par with India.

In T20 I cricket , Pakistan haven't been beaten Sri Lanka since 2017.

Can we claim that SL are a better T20I side than Pakistan then ?

 

[Statpadder Inc]

I can understand they will push this hierarchy narrative to the max.

It is easy to do so when you are sitting pretty at the top and can talk about who is number two and number three when you have nothing to lose on your own, but Afghanistan is not better than Pakistan.

If they are doing better than Pakistan it is because Pakistan has allowed them to be better than them. It is up to Pakistan if Afghanistan do better than them or not.

Pakistan doesn’t have the talent, skill and resources to be better than India, Australia and England. They are very close to South Africa and New Zealand and ahead of the rest.

Pakistan will be better than Afghanistan again very soon, much to the disappointment of a lot of fans who will cook our ears with the hierarchy nonsense over the next few months.

Are you not happy for your fellow Pashtun brothers

 

[Mamoon]

In T20 I cricket , Pakistan haven't been beaten Sri Lanka since 2017.

Can we claim that SL are a better T20I side than Pakistan then ?

If SL beats Pakistan in a T20I series, then of course they are better than Pakistan.

 

[Unleashed]

Bangladesh should 100% be ashamed of their lack of progress.
They are a cricketing mad country and are also prospering well as an economy. They seem to have money to hire decent coaches too, I struggle to understand what stops them from doing well for a consistent basis.

Rest is more or less equal but Bangladesh are at the lowest end. There's not much to seperate Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan in T20.

 

[Mamoon]

Are you not happy for your fellow Pashtun brothers

Happy for them, but not interested in pushing any agenda like what Indian fans are doing. Anyway, I don’t blame them - Pakistani fans would have done the same if they were in the same position.

 

[oatmeal]

Afghanistan are a mercurial side but Pakistan would beat them in a T20 match 7 times out of 10.

India
Pakistan
Afghanistan
Lanka/Bangladesh based on conditions
Nepal

 

[Farabi]

Considering the last 2 white ball ICC tournaments, it's pretty safe to say India and Afghanistan are the top 2 Asian sides in white ball cricket.

How does it look after these two sides though?

Can Pakistan be considered the 3rd best Asian white ball side or is there a serious challenger there in Bangladesh considering how BD actually managed to get into Super 8's.


Id go

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Nepal.


Post your current Asian white ball rankings and thoughts.

Considering the last 2 white ball ICC tournaments, it's pretty safe to say India and Afghanistan are the top 2 Asian sides in white ball cricket.

How does it look after these two sides though?

Can Pakistan be considered the 3rd best Asian white ball side or is there a serious challenger there in Bangladesh considering how BD actually managed to get into Super 8's.


Id go

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Nepal.


Post your current Asian white ball rankings and thoughts.

a bit reactionary.

Afghanistan has 1 batter and 2 spinners. The rest are borderline players. The pacers are good in helpful conditions but become completely useless in normal pitches. The middle order is even worse than Pakistan’s.

They have done really well to reach the semis. But at one stage, even Kenya reached the semi final.

Afghanistan has no comparison with Pakistan. Last year, it had a hard time beating Pakistan A team.

 

[Mamoon]

Beautiful exhibition of hierarchy by Afghanistan.

 

[captain.hansolo]

I think we need a bilateral series between India and Pakistan except India sports only their perennial 12th men. That should be exceptionally competitive and Pakistan may actually win a few games!

 

[followed]

This Afghanistan team is not a good t20i team.
They have only one good t20is batsman in gurbaz and he is hit and miss as well.

That other guy his opener has strike rate of 107 in t20is.

They are only made look good due to these terrible pitches otherwise they would get beaten regularly by top side.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Considering the last 2 white ball ICC tournaments, it's pretty safe to say India and Afghanistan are the top 2 Asian sides in white ball cricket.

How does it look after these two sides though?

Can Pakistan be considered the 3rd best Asian white ball side or is there a serious challenger there in Bangladesh considering how BD actually managed to get into Super 8's.


Id go

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan = Bangladesh
Nepal.


Post your current Asian white ball rankings and thoughts.

Sri Lanka kahaan gaya bhai?? Seedha Nepal LOL

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

India
India 2nd team ( this team can win any tournament according to Hardik)
India 3rd team (as above)
Pakistan domestic talent that doesn't get a chance due to cronyism
Pakistan 2nd team of domestic talent that doesn't get a chance due to cronyism
Afghanistan
Pakistan's actual team
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh


Thats how I rank them

Kuch Jyaada ho gaya... but will gladly accept. May this become the new reality soon !!! Amen!

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Beautiful exhibition of hierarchy by Afghanistan.

Just Shows South Asia is behind South Africa on an average. Imagine Pakistan getting bundled out for 35

 

[Mamoon]

Just Shows South Asia is behind South Africa on an average. Imagine Pakistan getting bundled out for 35

Pakistan is the only South Asian team to have won an ICC trophy in the last 10 years and Pakistani fans are proud of it.

 

[Farabi]

This thread didn’t age well. I can’t believe some of these Indian posters, they were a feather’s edge from losing to Pakistan in 3 consecutive world cups.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

This thread didn’t age well. I can’t believe some of these Indian posters, they were a feather’s edge from losing to Pakistan in 3 consecutive world cups.

2023 World Cup match wasn't won by a "feathers edge"

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Pakistan still better team than SL, Ban and Afg, Pakistan has a better record vs NZ and SA in ICC tournaments

 

[BouncerGuy]

If we look at the last 2 or 3 events then I would say that:

India
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh

But overall, India and Pakistan are still the top 2 sides of Asia.

 

[JaDed]

Bilateral are important now,

 

[Sunny_majoka]

2023 World Cup match wasn't won by a "feathers edge"

Based on that one match you demoted Pakistan?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Based on that one match you demoted Pakistan?

No

 

[Farabi]

2023 World Cup match wasn't won by a "feathers edge"

Aren’t we discussing T20s

 

[Usman Chadda]

Might aswell have not played the semi-finals if this is how they were going to be embarrassed.

Semi-finalists don’t get destroyed like this, they should be teams with the pedigree to win the tournament.

Disappointing from Afghanistan.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Aren’t we discussing T20s

Both white ball formats

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I must admit I got a bit carried away by Afghanistan's performances. Their performance today showed how poor they are at handling pressure and how much they are missing as a team. They have some skillful bowlers and certainly Gurbaz is one of the best Asian limited-overs openers. But this is also why sometimes the T20 format can be a misleading barometer of a team's true quality.

Pakistan is better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In ODIs, the gap between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is not that significant. Afghanistan had a great WC but also lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka 3-0 earlier this year. Similarly, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series. Despite the WC win, Afghanistan has only ever beaten a full-strength Pakistan side once and bottled it in pressure situations numerous times, which seems to be a recurring thing for them. And something they have done against India lots of times too. Afghanistan-Bangladesh is also a closely fought rivalry. Afghanistan won the ODI series against them 2-1 but Bangladesh beat them in the WC. Sri Lanka has had a few wins over Pakistan but I'm fairly certain that if they were to compete in an ODI or an T20I series, Pakistan would hammer them. Bangladesh haven't won an international match against in any format Pakistan in 6 years.

Pakistan is not a great side by any stretch of the imagination, but its still better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Right now I would put it like this:

ODIs:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Sri Lanka
4. Afghanistan
5. Bangladesh


T20Is:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Afghanistan
4. Sri Lanka
5. Bangladesh

 

[JaDed]

I must admit I got a bit carried away by Afghanistan's performances. Their performance today showed how poor they are at handling pressure and how much they are missing as a team. They have some skillful bowlers and certainly Gurbaz is one of the best Asian limited-overs openers. But this is also why sometimes the T20 format can be a misleading barometer of a team's true quality.

Pakistan is better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In ODIs, the gap between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is not that significant. Afghanistan had a great WC but also lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka 3-0 earlier this year. Similarly, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series. Despite the WC win, Afghanistan has only ever beaten a full-strength Pakistan side once and bottled it in pressure situations numerous times, which seems to be a recurring thing for them. And something they have done against India lots of times too. Afghanistan-Bangladesh is also a closely fought rivalry. Afghanistan won the ODI series against them 2-1 but Bangladesh beat them in the WC. Sri Lanka has had a few wins over Pakistan but I'm fairly certain that if they were to compete in an ODI or an T20I series, Pakistan would hammer them. Bangladesh haven't won an international match against in any format Pakistan in 6 years.

Right now I would put it like this:

ODIs:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Sri Lanka
4. Afghanistan
5. Bangladesh


T20Is:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Afghanistan
4. Sri Lanka
5. Bangladesh

Poor BD inspite of defeating Lanka consistently in T20s you have ranked them 5 probably coz of their performance against Afg and Ind lol

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Poor BD inspite of defeating Lanka consistently in T20s you have ranked them 5 probably coz of their performance against Afg and Ind lol

Bangladesh is the most timid team out of all 5. They have zero intent as a side and are probably the worst when it comes to handling pressure. They only play out of their skins against Sri Lanka. Against most teams they struggle to even get in match-winning positions. It's disappointing to see them regress because between 2015-19 it seemed like Bangladesh was improving as an ODI team.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Pakistan is the only South Asian team to have won an ICC trophy in the last 10 years and Pakistani fans are proud of it.

and they should be , no one is denying that. Facts are Facts!

 

[mominsaigol]

I must admit I got a bit carried away by Afghanistan's performances. Their performance today showed how poor they are at handling pressure and how much they are missing as a team. They have some skillful bowlers and certainly Gurbaz is one of the best Asian limited-overs openers. But this is also why sometimes the T20 format can be a misleading barometer of a team's true quality.

Pakistan is better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In ODIs, the gap between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is not that significant. Afghanistan had a great WC but also lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka 3-0 earlier this year. Similarly, Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series. Despite the WC win, Afghanistan has only ever beaten a full-strength Pakistan side once and bottled it in pressure situations numerous times, which seems to be a recurring thing for them. And something they have done against India lots of times too. Afghanistan-Bangladesh is also a closely fought rivalry. Afghanistan won the ODI series against them 2-1 but Bangladesh beat them in the WC. Sri Lanka has had a few wins over Pakistan but I'm fairly certain that if they were to compete in an ODI or an T20I series, Pakistan would hammer them. Bangladesh haven't won an international match against in any format Pakistan in 6 years.

Pakistan is not a great side by any stretch of the imagination, but its still better than Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Right now I would put it like this:

ODIs:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Sri Lanka
4. Afghanistan
5. Bangladesh


T20Is:

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Afghanistan
4. Sri Lanka
5. Bangladesh

Afghanistan would wash Pakistan 7 out of 10x.

Babar and rizwan can't play their pacers or spinners. The Pakistani top to middle order filled with usman khan, Falhar zaman, shadab, Chacha, Azam, imad etc etc are all walking wickets and will collapse like a house of cards. This MO is far worse then Afghanistan's fragile MO.

Bowling wise every bowler has been a run machine besides naseem who seems to be getting his rhythm back. And abrar playing over shadab is now a distant dream as long as babar is around.

Afghanistan already washed a stronger odi team of Pakistan in 2023. Abdullah shafiw and saud being added makes Pakistan stronger as their > Usman, chacha, azam etc irrespective of formats be It odi, test or t20

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

All jokes Aside
India is consistently the best Asian side in all conditions, any loss to a fellow Asian side is and should be considered an upset.

Rest of the Asian teams lack consistency, Bangladesh, Afghanistan very much depend on the conditions of the pitch to punch above their weight, while Sri Lanka is getting lost somewhere (The reasons for SL's insipid performance should be analysed)

Pakistan is worse than Bangladesh and Afghanistan in terms of consistency. They can beat a top team once in a while but they have shown given an opportunity even Uganda might send them packing.

If one has to bet for 2nd best Asian team by Olympics, I would put my money on Afghanistan or even SL. Bangladesh and Pakistan have too much non-cricketing chaos and politics in the background that affects their performance.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Afghanistan would wash Pakistan 7 out of 10x.

Babar and rizwan can't play their pacers or spinners. The Pakistani top to middle order filled with usman khan, Falhar zaman, shadab, Chacha, Azam, imad etc etc are all walking wickets and will collapse like a house of cards. This MO is far worse then Afghanistan's fragile MO.

Bowling wise every bowler has been a run machine besides naseem who seems to be getting his rhythm back. And abrar playing over shadab is now a distant dream as long as babar is around.

Afghanistan already washed a stronger odi team of Pakistan in 2023. Abdullah shafiw and saud being added makes Pakistan stronger as their > Usman, chacha, azam etc irrespective of formats be It odi, test or t20

Pakistan had an awful WC. But let's not forget that they were ranked No. 1 going into it. Afghanistan has a good team but they are Pakistan lite in the sense that how they turn up on the day defines how they do. Take out Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (who has incredible potential as a batter) and that batting is hollow, made up of bits and pieces players that lack proper technique to score consistently against good bowling attacks. The pace attack is made up of trundlers that can be smashed around on pitches that aren't slow. Focus on Farooqi the next time he is under pressure. The guy loses the plot completely and looks like he is going to have a panic attack. Rashid is the best limited-overs spinner in the world. Mujeeb is also world-class. But without them you have an aging Nabi on his last legs and Noor Ahmed who is too inconsistent and has not really established himself.

Afghanistan played brilliantly in the 2023 WC. They were riding an incredible wave of momentum and had beaten England even before they beat Pakistan. Doesn't mean they are even anywhere close to England in ODIs. Them beating Pakistan was down to their momentum and Pakistan being completely off-color and out of sync as a side in that World Cup. Just a month prior to that WC Pakistan smashed the same Afghanistan side in 2 matches and chased down 302 in another one. In one of those matches Afghanistan were bowled out for 59, where Haris Rauf (of all people) ran over them like freight train.

I believe that the reason Afghanistan compete so strongly with Pakistan, as compared to other sides, is because of the political factors that their players have likely grown up with. Pakistanis are deeply racist people when it comes to attitudes towards Afghans. And I am certain that these players encountered alot of that growing up, playing their cricket in Peshawar. Which is why when they play Pakistan, its personal for them.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Afghanistan would wash Pakistan 7 out of 10x.

Afghanistan has only beaten a full-strength Pakistan once in any format.

 

[pakistani pride]

Fans may differ on skil wise but Afghans are definitely second best mentally and big match temperament wise

Which big matches have they won in their history?

 

[pakistani pride]

This SF performance show how bad they actually are.
People just get too excited with Afghan team, do not really know why.

India is by far the best Asian team. 2nd place is of course open for debate, but to say Afghan team is clearly 2nd is a bit over the top, they are not.

 

[mominsaigol]

Pakistan had an awful WC. But let's not forget that they were ranked No. 1 going into it. Afghanistan has a good team but they are Pakistan lite in the sense that how they turn up on the day defines how they do. Take out Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran (who has incredible potential as a batter) and that batting is hollow, made up of bits and pieces players that lack proper technique to score consistently against good bowling attacks. The pace attack is made up of trundlers that can be smashed around on pitches that aren't slow. Focus on Farooqi the next time he is under pressure. The guy loses the plot completely and looks like he is going to have a panic attack. Rashid is the best limited-overs spinner in the world. Mujeeb is also world-class. But without them you have an aging Nabi on his last legs and Noor Ahmed who is too inconsistent and has not really established himself.

Afghanistan played brilliantly in the 2023 WC. They were riding an incredible wave of momentum and had beaten England even before they beat Pakistan. Doesn't mean they are even anywhere close to England in ODIs. Them beating Pakistan was down to their momentum and Pakistan being completely off-color and out of sync as a side in that World Cup. Just a month prior to that WC Pakistan smashed the same Afghanistan side in 2 matches and chased down 302 in another one. In one of those matches Afghanistan were bowled out for 59, where Haris Rauf (of all people) ran over them like freight train.

I believe that the reason Afghanistan compete so strongly with Pakistan, as compared to other sides, is because of the political factors that their players have likely grown up with. Pakistanis are deeply racist people when it comes to attitudes towards Afghans. And I am certain that these players encountered alot of that growing up, playing their cricket in Peshawar. Which is why when they play Pakistan, its personal for them.

We were no 1 going into it because we smacked a C team NZ on a pindi pitch and even then Fakhar was the main cause and ICC doesn't take these metrics into account. On PP no one believed Pakistan was actually no 1.

As for the rest of your points, none of that matters. You're going off names and reputation. England in 2023 were one of the weakest teams. Bairstow, Stokes and Root returned after 4 years, Everyone who was sane knew that these 3 would be dead weight walking wickets and wouldn't be in their 2019 form and were now mostly minnow bashers for Nedtherlands and Pakistan's trash heap bowling. Butler was also badly badly out of form.

They were literally playing with 4 batting dead weights and their best batter was malan of all people who rightfully got dropped. Harry Brook didn't perform either and frankly is medicore in t20 and odi, but they had to take him as Roy was even worse in lapse of form.

Pakistan in 2023 were not no 1 by any metric. And Afghanistan washing them was a given. Basically for Pakistan to beat Afghanistan now they need to rely on Afghanistan coming under pressure and choking themselves amd being mentally put of it.

In the past 10 years Pakistan has only beaten Afghanistan due to them bottling it or them being mentally defeated. Not because Pakistan is a better team especially not now

 

[mominsaigol]

Afghanistan has only beaten a full-strength Pakistan once in any format.

These numbers and win to loss ration will keep going up and up now for Afghanistan for very obvious reasons. Pakistan is lucky to not face Afghanistan this wc.

 

[BouncerGuy]

These numbers and win to loss ration will keep going up and up now for Afghanistan for very obvious reasons. Pakistan is lucky to not face Afghanistan this wc.

Afghans are lucky that they don't have to face the Azam and IFFI storm.

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

indians on this thread hyped up Afg to be second best Asian team based on cwc and t20 wc. thats incredibly low sample data to reach the conclusion. Afg finished below Pak in cwc. despite lacklustre performances by Pak , still finished above Afg due to better RR and equal points. they could have played better in final match against Eng if it was nt dead rubber since NRR equation was out of question. If Umpire had given LBW against shamsi , Pak almost won against SA too which eventually cost us semi spot. When push came to shove , Pakistan was on course to chase 400 runs against NZ a team against which afg folded for 139. Afg so far has only won one odi game against Pakistan in Chennai. before that pak beat them 3-0 in Lanka . Afg is no way near competitive in test cricket. even ireland beat them in UAE. Today’s semi final proved that they are minnows and conditions helped them get couple of fluke wins over NZ and AUS to qualify for semis. Pak never played such bad semi final or final in t20 ever. all the knockouts ever played by Pakistan in t20s have been competitive . getting bundled out for 56 in semi final in no excuse when you chose to bat first.

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

All jokes Aside
India is consistently the best Asian side in all conditions, any loss to a fellow Asian side is and should be considered an upset.

Rest of the Asian teams lack consistency, Bangladesh, Afghanistan very much depend on the conditions of the pitch to punch above their weight, while Sri Lanka is getting lost somewhere (The reasons for SL's insipid performance should be analysed)

Pakistan is worse than Bangladesh and Afghanistan in terms of consistency. They can beat a top team once in a while but they have shown given an opportunity even Uganda might send them packing.

If one has to bet for 2nd best Asian team by Olympics, I would put my money on Afghanistan or even SL. Bangladesh and Pakistan have too much non-cricketing chaos and politics in the background that affects their performance.

out of 9 t20 World cups played.. Pakistan played semi or final 6 times you call Pakistan inconsistent bro teams are allowed to have one bad tournament like india had in 2021. certainly Afg are not better than NZ because they bowled them out for 75 and won first ever game against them or they are not better than Aussies because they beat them in first ever match. similarly Eng was beaten in cwc for the first time , that did nt make afg better than them. and Pakistan was also beaten in odi’s first time , did nt make them better cricket team. they just played better on the day

 

[BouncerGuy]

out of 9 t20 World cups played.. Pakistan played semi or final 6 times you call Pakistan inconsistent bro teams are allowed to have one bad tournament like india had in 2021. certainly Afg are not better than NZ because they bowled them out for 75 and won first ever game against them or they are not better than Aussies because they beat them in first ever match. similarly Eng was beaten in cwc for the first time , that did nt make afg better than them. and Pakistan was also beaten in odi’s first time , did nt make them better cricket team. they just played better on the day

Exactly. 1 good game and the hype went to the moon but soon the reality struck hard and they landed back on earth upside down.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

We were no 1 going into it because we smacked a C team NZ on a pindi pitch and even then Fakhar was the main cause and ICC doesn't take these metrics into account. On PP no one believed Pakistan was actually no 1.

As for the rest of your points, none of that matters. You're going off names and reputation. England in 2023 were one of the weakest teams. Bairstow, Stokes and Root returned after 4 years, Everyone who was sane knew that these 3 would be dead weight walking wickets and wouldn't be in their 2019 form and were now mostly minnow bashers for Nedtherlands and Pakistan's trash heap bowling. Butler was also badly badly out of form.

They were literally playing with 4 batting dead weights and their best batter was malan of all people who rightfully got dropped. Harry Brook didn't perform either and frankly is medicore in t20 and odi, but they had to take him as Roy was even worse in lapse of form.

Pakistan in 2023 were not no 1 by any metric. And Afghanistan washing them was a given. Basically for Pakistan to beat Afghanistan now they need to rely on Afghanistan coming under pressure and choking themselves amd being mentally put of it.

In the past 10 years Pakistan has only beaten Afghanistan due to them bottling it or them being mentally defeated. Not because Pakistan is a better team especially not now

You are making alot of excuses when the reality is that Afghanistan has only beaten a full-strength Pakistan once in any format. If I need 50 excuses/modifiers to justify one point then it probably means that point isn't as strong as I think it is.

You're right. No one believed Pakistan was No.1, and honestly they weren't. There were alot of B/C teams that Pakistan beat. But they were still a better and higher ranked team than Afghanistan going into the WC that had been winning matches more consistently than they had in years.

Also, the idea that England were awful because they had a bad WC is quite laughable. Again, the quality of players that England has are players that Afghanistan can only dream of having. In limited-overs cricket, confidence and momentum are a big thing. England in 2019 gave Afghanistan the thrashing of a lifetime when Morgan smashed Rashid alone for 10 sixes. The England squad from 2023 had many of the same players that won the WC 4 years prior. But England were overconfident and undercooked. But their performance in that WC was not a true reflection of how good they are. Side note: England were absolutely thrashed by Sri Lanka too in the same WC. Are we going to now pretend that Sri Lanka are better than England too?

Any team can win one match. And consistently bottling and not bottling is what differentiates the best from the rest. If you can't handle pressure in this sport, you will lose most matches. Which is exactly why Afghanistan, despite their raw talent and incredible rise have constantly gotten reality checks from bigger teams. Be it Pakistan, Australia or India.

 

[Vikram1989]

Which big matches have they won in their history?

Being minnows they never showed weak hand.They stretched all the teams in past 6 months odi wc , t20 wc.Asia cup sl match is prime example of their mentality. Pak, Bng must have never gone for it .

 

[followed]

out of 9 t20 World cups played.. Pakistan played semi or final 6 times you call Pakistan inconsistent bro teams are allowed to have one bad tournament like india had in 2021. certainly Afg are not better than NZ because they bowled them out for 75 and won first ever game against them or they are not better than Aussies because they beat them in first ever match. similarly Eng was beaten in cwc for the first time , that did nt make afg better than them. and Pakistan was also beaten in odi’s first time , did nt make them better cricket team. they just played better on the day

India is only playing their 5th semi final.
They are so friggin overrated. Everything in their favour yet they can't win even a single icc tournament.LOL

 

[followed]

The disrespect being shown by Indians here is laughable.

Pakistan has actually played more semi finals than their overrated chokers and Pakistan was finalist in 2022 world cup.

Indians should not disrespect their elders like that.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

out of 9 t20 World cups played.. Pakistan played semi or final 6 times you call Pakistan inconsistent bro teams are allowed to have one bad tournament like india had in 2021. certainly Afg are not better than NZ because they bowled them out for 75 and won first ever game against them or they are not better than Aussies because they beat them in first ever match. similarly Eng was beaten in cwc for the first time , that did nt make afg better than them. and Pakistan was also beaten in odi’s first time , did nt make them better cricket team. they just played better on the day

Before your laughter ends, Would you like me to fact check you with stats. Pakistani fans keep getting bamboozled by one off Semi final performances.
T20 World Cup: Pakistan qualified for the first 4 straight Semis of T20 world cup, In the last 5 T20 world cup you have managed to qualify only twice.
ODI World Cup: Pakistan has reached knock outs only Twice, since 1999. SL has done it thrice even Bangladesh has managed it once.
Pakistan has tended to over perform its potential in ICC tournaments. Over the last 10 years Pakistan cricket has shown declining trajectory with one off games of glory, while Afghanistan has sustained the gradual progress it has been making. Following the trends, Afghanistan will be the better's choice.

Over the last 10 years, even Bangladesh beats Paksitan in W/L ratio in ODI's, while Afghans have started their upwards trajectory recently

For T20Is, I believe Afghans have been playing with associates quite a bit, but Pakistan has also been feasting on minnows and still W/L ratio is not something great to write home about.

 

[followed]

Before your laughter ends, Would you like me to fact check you with stats. Pakistani fans keep getting bamboozled by one off Semi final performances.
T20 World Cup: Pakistan qualified for the first 4 straight Semis of T20 world cup, In the last 5 T20 world cup you have managed to qualify only twice.
ODI World Cup: Pakistan has reached knock outs only Twice, since 1999. SL has done it thrice even Bangladesh has managed it once.
Pakistan has tended to over perform its potential in ICC tournaments. Over the last 10 years Pakistan cricket has shown declining trajectory with one off games of glory, while Afghanistan has sustained the gradual progress it has been making. Following the trends, Afghanistan will be the better's choice.

Over the last 10 years, even Bangladesh beats Paksitan in W/L ratio in ODI's, while Afghans have started their upwards trajectory recently
View attachment 144840
For T20Is, I believe Afghans have been playing with associates quite a bit, but Pakistan has also been feasting on minnows and still W/L ratio is not something great to write home about.
View attachment 144841

Lol how many times has india qualified. Hahah
They are still at their 5th semi final .

Pakistan is better team than india historically in t20is let alone Afghanistan.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Afghanistan is lucky to not have played any cricket in New York.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Lol how many times has india qualified. Hahah
They are still at their 5th semi final .

Pakistan is better team than india historically in t20is let alone Afghanistan.

4 times including 1 Final in the last 5 T20 World Cups, while 2 Finals and 2 semis in the last 4 World Cups.
Before you harp about choking.. The thread is about comparing Asian nations' performance.

History ka danda baithe bajaate raho till even UAE leaves you behind

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

Before your laughter ends, Would you like me to fact check you with stats. Pakistani fans keep getting bamboozled by one off Semi final performances.
T20 World Cup: Pakistan qualified for the first 4 straight Semis of T20 world cup, In the last 5 T20 world cup you have managed to qualify only twice.
ODI World Cup: Pakistan has reached knock outs only Twice, since 1999. SL has done it thrice even Bangladesh has managed it once.
Pakistan has tended to over perform its potential in ICC tournaments. Over the last 10 years Pakistan cricket has shown declining trajectory with one off games of glory, while Afghanistan has sustained the gradual progress it has been making. Following the trends, Afghanistan will be the better's choice.

Over the last 10 years, even Bangladesh beats Paksitan in W/L ratio in ODI's, while Afghans have started their upwards trajectory recently
View attachment 144840
For T20Is, I believe Afghans have been playing with associates quite a bit, but Pakistan has also been feasting on minnows and still W/L ratio is not something great to write home about.
View attachment 144841

you can also say Pakistan managed to qualify twice in last three Pak vs Bd is no comparison. Since their last win over Pak in Asia cup 2018 , Pakistan has not lost a game against bd across formats. scoreline reads 13-0 they are yet to register a win against Pakistan in test cricket. and Bd has better win ratio against India in odi cricket. Pakistan had one bad series in 2015 with relatively new team after wc. India lost two odi series against bd with full strength. once in 2015 and again in 2023. Pakistan cricket won champions trophy in 2017. Afg on the rise and Afg being actually better than Pak are entirely two different things. Pak cricket can also go on upward trajectory in no time. they have the resources to do so and would nt need years to pull that off