Pakistan A captain Mohammad Haris gives bold reply to critics who downplayed their success in Emerging Asia Cup 2023

India A were favourites to win the 2023 ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup, having gone unbeaten in the tournament till reaching the final. Mohammad Haris-led Paskitan A thrashed the Men in Blue by 128 runs on July 23 to clinch their second consecutive title. Since the tournament's end, there have been talks about the squads of both teams as Pakistan had experienced players in their XI.

Pakistan had fielded seven players who have represented their country, while the Indian Cricket Board had sent uncapped players who have performed well in the domestic circuit, including the Indian Premier League. Analyzing the facts further, Haris represented Pakistan in 14 matches while Indian skipper Yash Dull played just four IPL matches. The average age of India A was 20.80 while that of Pakistan A was 23.20.

Pakistan was heavily criticised for sending an experienced team to a competition aimed at developing young players. While this tarnished their success, Captain Haris came up with a bold reply comparing the international experience of the Pakistani players with that of the Indian players in the IPL.

“People are saying that Pakistan sent A team with many seniors. We did not ask them to send little kids to the tournament. They say that we had international experience in our team. How much international matches have we played but? Saim has played 5, I have played 6. Those guys (India players) have played 260 IPL matches,” Haris was quoted as saying by Zee News.

'Humne toh nahin kaha tha aap chotay larkay le ke aao' - Mohammad Haris ♥️

Pakistan Shaheens captain Haris says India A had the opportunity to choose whichever squad they wanted to. He also says India A players had experience of 260 IPL matches 😱pic.twitter.com/QWNuLCVGO8

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) August 5, 2023

I am very happy with how the boys are motivated: Haris on Pakistan's stunning victory over India A

India A defeated Pakistan A in the group stage of the tournament but failed to repeat their dominance in a must-win match. Dull missed the trick by sending the Men in Green to bat first and they posted a massive score of 352 on the back of Tayyab Tahir's magnificent century. In reply, apart from opener Abhishek Sharma (61 off 51) none of the batters could find any resistance and were bowled out for 224 runs.

Speaking after the match, Haris praised his team, saying, “This is what happens, when you score big runs in a final, the opposition comes under pressure and then if you get back-to-back wickets it gets tough for them. We had tried different combinations in the last four-five matches, tried different players, and it worked well for us. We had shown the videos of the Indian batters to our bowlers. I am very happy with how the boys are motivated.