Shahid Afridi admits India 'deserved' T20 World Cup, Hafeez urges Pakistan to learn: 'They played like champions'

India’s dominant victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup has drawn praise from several former Pakistan cricketers, who admitted that Suryakumar Yadav's team deserved the title after their impressive performances in the knockout matches.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said India played fearless cricket throughout the tournament and fully deserved to lift the trophy. Speaking on Samaa TV, Afridi pointed to India’s strong batting displays in both the semifinal and final.

“If we talk about India’s performances, a team that can score 250 in the World Cup semifinal and also score 250 in the final definitely has something special in it. They play fearless cricket. If your bowling isn’t good and on top of that your captaincy isn’t right, then it’s no surprise. In fact, they should be thankful that India didn’t score 300. India deserved the title. They played like champions,” Afridi said.

More from Firstcricket

Ex-Pak captain says Pakistan must learn from India

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez also praised India’s mindset and consistency in recent years. He said India’s focus on winning major ICC tournaments has helped them build a strong and successful team.

“Credit must be given to their mindset and their intellectual honesty. When you set high standards for yourself and your goal is to win ICC trophies, everything starts falling into place. If you look at their overall growth, they won the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 2025 Champions Trophy, the 2025 Asia Cup, and now the 2026 T20 World Cup. So they have won four trophies in just two years, and that too in different conditions. It reminds you of the great Australian team that dominated world cricket from 1999 to 2007. Back then, they were ahead of the game and all the other teams were chasing them. We must watch and learn from India,” Hafeez said on Game On Hai show.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan wicketkeeper and captain Rashid Latif also acknowledged the high standard of cricket played by India. “They are very high in terms of skill. In the last two matches, they have played cricket of a very high level. It’s difficult for us to reach that level,” Latif said on Haarna Mana Hai.

India’s performances in the semifinal and final, where they posted 250-plus runs, helped them defend the title at home. They beat New Zealand by a massive margin of 96 runs. After the match, Suryakumar Yadav said his next goal is to win an Olympic gold for India.

Pakistan, on the other hand, were knocked out of the Super 8 stage after failing to qualify for the knockouts due to inferior net run rate. This was the fourth ICC event where Pakistan failed to reach the semifinal stage.