India's Depth Overwhelms Pakistan Even on 'Off-Day,' Claims Manjrekar After Asia Cup Victory

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has praised the Men in Blue for their immense depth in talent, pointing out that even on an off day, India can comfortably outclass arch-rivals Pakistan.

India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, secured a four-wicket win against Pakistan in the Super 4 clash on Sunday, earlier this week. While the Indian batting lineup dominated, the bowlers had a rare off day, with Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the most expensive bowler in the innings.

Manjrekar highlighted this in a video shared on Instagram. “India wasn’t at their best, clearly. I mean, just imagine Bumrah being India’s most expensive bowler. He had an off day, India dropped three catches, so they were well below their best, and despite that, they won comfortably against Pakistan,” he said.

BIG GAP BETWEEN IND-PAK

He also emphasised the gulf between the two sides in terms of depth and quality. While Pakistan performed slightly better than in their earlier encounter, their batting lineup lacked consistency and reliable performers to post a defendable total.

“It again shows the big gap between India and Pakistan just on sheer ability and skills. Happy for Pakistan, they were slightly better, so there was some spark there, but you could see how the Indian bowlers still managed to claw things back. Why? Because there wasn't depth of class in Pakistan batting, and in the end, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, the way Tilak Varma finished.

It’s just a limitless supply of exceptional players,” Manjrekar said.

He concluded by underlining India’s superiority in the T20 format. “So, yeah, India, even in that match when they were not at their best, still showed all of us how much, how superior they are to Pakistan and what a formidable T20 team India has become.”

India’s victory once again reaffirmed their position as one of the most consistent and well-rounded sides in the Asia Cup, with world-class depth in both batting and bowling proving decisive in high-pressure encounters.