Image source, ACC
In the thrilling final match of Asia Cup Under-19 in Oman on Saturday evening, the Indian team defeated the Pakistan team by one wicket on the last ball.
This result has once again proved that whether India-Pakistan cricket is at senior level or junior level, the enthusiasm of being traditional rivals, the desire to win and the full effect of exciting matches is visible everywhere.
Even in the Under-19 Asia Cup, everyone knew very well that even though there are 8 teams present in the tournament, the decisive match will be between these two traditional rivals, who remain the center of everyone's attention and interest in every tournament.
From social media to cricket experts and even former cricketers of the country are commenting on this defeat of Pakistan.
On the defeat of Pakistan Under-19, former Test cricketers and analysts of Pakistan have compared both the teams.
Comments are also being made on social media regarding this final.
Along with this, video clips are also going viral in which Indian players can be seen in excessive enthusiasm after the victory.
Many people have described his behavior as against the spirit of the game.
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What are former Pakistani cricketers saying?
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, while talking to BBC Hindi, says, "In this tournament, both the teams performed brilliantly and made it to the finals and the final was also very good, which was decided on the last ball."
"Young players in Pakistan have got good opportunities to progress. Talented cricketers have performed well on the stage of Under-19 Pakistan, Emerging and Pakistan Shaheen."
"Among these, Azaan Owais, Arafat Minhas, Sameer Minhas, Abdullah Fazal and Tayyab Arif have reached international cricket. Even in the current Under-19 team, Usman Khan, Farhan Yusuf, Abdul Qadir and other players are performing well, which is a good thing."
'Policies of India and Pakistan are different'
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Rashid Latif says, "India's policy regarding young talent is different from ours. There, no young player is played again after one Under-19 World Cup. Pakistan will also have to adopt the same policy, which will lead to better results."
Azhar Ali, former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, while talking to BBC Hindi, said, "The most praiseworthy thing about India's success is that instead of giving a second chance to their old squad, they came to this tournament with a new team and became champions."
"On the other hand, Pakistan will have to think that by feeding players again and again, you are blocking the way for new talent to move forward. There should be a policy of one Under-19 Asia Cup and one Under-19 World Cup, whether you win or lose. Even if a player is 16 years old, he should stay in the Under-19s for a maximum of two years and then move on."
He said, "There has been no Under-19 cricket in the last two-three years, which is hurting us. We have to play the same players again and again, even though we have the talent. An example of this is Abdul Qadir, who has performed brilliantly in this tournament."
Senior cricket analyst Dr. Noman Niaz, while talking to BBC Hindi, says, "At present, there are three or four players in the Pakistan Under-19 team, who should not have been in the Under-19 Asia Cup, but in the Test series against Sri Lanka. These include Farhan Yusuf, Ali Raza and Abdul Subhaan."
He said, "As far as India is concerned, Rahul Dravid has made a policy that a player will play only one Under-19 World Cup. The purpose of this policy is that at the junior level, they get to know the talent of a player. After this, he is introduced to India A and then he moves towards the senior Indian team."
Dr. Noman Niaz says, "India's player development system is very good. It identifies players properly and promotes them. In Pakistan, players who should not be playing at the Under-19 level are currently playing there."
'India's system is better than Pakistan'
Former Test cricketer Bajid Khan says, "It was a fantastic final, in which a high level of cricket was played. It is very rare to see such a final at the Under-19 level, where you get to see excellent cricket and a team achieves the target in the last moments."
"As far as player development is concerned, Pakistan's case is different from other countries. In the rest of the world, it is rare that you play two-four tournaments with the same team or with most of the players. Usually this does not happen in Under-19. A player comes to Under-19 and when his development is done, he is sent to the next level. He does not come back to Under-19 again."
Bazid Khan says, "India's policy is very clear that they do not play the Under-19 World Cup to any player more than once. India's system is very good. Talented young players are emerging there. If you play the players in the age group again and again, then the development of the boys who are waiting for the opportunity from behind will be stopped."
"The Pakistan team in this tournament seemed to be the favorite and was being called an experienced team. This is rarely seen in Under-19, whereas on the other hand, the Indian team was made up of new players. Therefore, their victory holds more importance."
He says, "From Pakistan's point of view, I liked his fielding the best. His level throughout the tournament was very good."
Sports journalist Shahid Hashmi while talking to BBC Hindi says, "It was a very interesting final, but Pakistan missed a good chance to win. The last six overs of both the innings were going to affect the outcome of the match."
Big difference in the performance of both the teams in the last overs
According to Shahid Hashmi, "Pakistan scored only 38 runs in the last six overs and lost 6 wickets, otherwise the score could have reached 370. On the contrary, India changed the result of the match with the brilliant batting of its batsmen in the last six overs."
He says, "Eight wickets had fallen for 252 runs. On this occasion, Farhan Yusuf made a mistake. He should have got an over from a non-regular bowler at that very moment. Due to this mistake in the captain's strategy, the last over had to be bowled by a spinner. The full credit for this goes to India's lower order batsmen, especially Ulva, who batted amazingly."
Shahid Hashmi says, "If we compare both the teams, then Pakistan has missed the opportunity for the development of the players. India has prepared its Under-19 team in a much better way. The proof of this is that not a single cricketer of the 2025 Under-19 Asia Cup was included in this team, whereas on the other hand, six-seven cricketers of Pakistan had played in the 2025 Asia Cup.
In fact, Farhan Yousuf, Ali Raza, Usman Khan and Mohammad Huzaifa had also played Under-19 Asia Cup in 2024. This shows that you are stopping the development of young cricketers and yet you have not achieved anything. This is the victory of India's system and the defeat of Pakistan's system."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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