Pakistan Still Favourites To Win Women's Asia Cup Despite India Rout, Says Mentor Wahab Riaz
Pakistan mentor Wahab Riaz backed his team to win the Women’s Asia Cup despite a crushing defeat against India, where Pakistan were bowled out for a record-low 55 in T20Is. Riaz said the team remains the tournament favourite and defended recent squad changes, stating they were made to build a stronger side for future competitions. Pakistan face Hong Kong next.
Pakistan Still Favourites To Win Women's Asia Cup Despite India Rout, Says Mentor Wahab Riaz | X
Dubai, Sep 6: After a humiliating defeat at the hands of India in the Women’s Asia Cup league-stage match in Dubai on Saturday, Pakistan team mentor Wahab Riaz said his side remains the favourites to lift the trophy.
Pakistan backs title hopes
Playing their 200th T20I, Pakistan struggled to find momentum as India implemented a spin-choke to dismiss them for a record-low T20I score of 55.
Despite captain Fatima Sana (3/17) leading Pakistan's resistance with three early wickets, India easily achieved the 56-run target, extending their winning streak in the Women's Asia Cup 2026 and maintaining top spot in Group A.
"I believe that all the players in our team are very skilful, and they just need to trust themselves. Our next match is against Hong Kong. We will go back and discuss what we did wrong against India. We won’t commit the same mistakes. I still believe Pakistan is the best side in this Asia Cup to lift the trophy because the conditions really suit us," Riaz told reporters after the loss.
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Riaz defends changes
Former captain Sana Mir had criticised the Pakistan team management for making wholesale changes to the team for the Women’s Asia Cup, leaving out seven players.
However, Riaz brushed aside such criticism, saying the players left out were not performing well and that changes were made to bring in new faces, keeping the future in mind.
"Sana Mir has her own opinion. I have nothing to do with that opinion. We have made changes with the future in mind. The players who were playing before have played a lot of World Cups and Asia Cups but we weren’t getting the results. So it was time to go with new faces and bring new girls into the mix to build the team for the upcoming tournaments," Riaz said.
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"It is not about who we left behind. We have to look at the reality. The girls who were left out weren’t performing at all. I think we did the right move by bringing new girls into the mix," he added.
Pakistan eye recovery
Pakistan, who are on the brink of a group-stage exit with just two points, will look to bounce back when they face Hong Kong on Monday.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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