Pakistan, Indian cricketers laud Shaheens for defending ACC Emerging Cup title

Going head-to-head against India A, Pakistan A gave a comprehensive performance from beginning to the end

PHOTO: ACC

Pakistan Shaheens came out victorious in the final of the ACC Emerging Team's Asia Cup 2023 for the second time in a row at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.

Going head-to-head against India A, Pakistan Shaheens gave a comprehensive performance from beginning to end. Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan's half-centuries and a stunning 71-ball century by Tayyab Tahir played a pivotal role in Pakistan Shaheens' win.

The Pakistan cricket fraternity was jubilant, celebrating Shaheens' tournament win, especially against arch-rivals. Shaheens received accolades for their exceptional performance from their seniors as well as some Indian cricketers.

Pakistan's skipper Babar Azam, along with Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, and others, took on their social media and congratulated Muhammad Haris and co. for their fantastic win against India A.

Delighted to see our rising stars winning the Emerging Asia Cup.

Congratulations to the entire Shaheens squad. Well done! 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/66amBPWp2g
— Babar Azam (@babarazam258) July 23, 2023

The way our Shaheens played through the tournament and especially in final is remarkable. This is the spark that is always needed to represent our cricket all over the globe.

Keep winning and keep excelling like this, champions! 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/Y0b7NApPTs
— Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) July 23, 2023

ماشااللّہ ماشااللّہ ماشااللّہ ماشااللّہ
تمام تعریف اللّٰہ پاک کےلیے ہے جس نے آج ہمارے شِہزادوں کو فاتح بنایا اور قوم کا نام روشان کیا
ہم پوری قوم اپنےجونیئرز شہزادوں کا شکریہ ادا کرتےہے 🙏 pic.twitter.com/V5mhbyOhdV
— Muhammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) July 23, 2023

The excitement and thrill of this tournament will remain with you for a lifetime, Congratulations on your well-deserved victory! Your hard work and dedication paid off, and we couldn't be more proud of you. Well done!
Pakistan Zindabad 🇵🇰#EmergingAsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/0G2ZNagx16
— Haris Rauf (@HarisRauf14) July 23, 2023

The boys, the Shaheens have made us all proud 🇵🇰❤️

What a performance, proud of you on winning the Emerging Asia Cup!! 🤩#PAKvIND pic.twitter.com/CDUgjAJrlt
— Fawad Alam (@iamfawadalam25) July 23, 2023

The future is bright. Congratulations to @TheRealPCB Shaheens team on winning the #EmergingAsiaCup2023. Some outstanding performances throughout the tournament playing like a team. pic.twitter.com/cXeTI0iIX0
— Younus Khan (@YounusK75) July 23, 2023

A extraordinary Win for Pakistan A against India A in emerging Asia cup Final👏🏼👏🏼Wonderful Batting display by Tayyab Tahir,Saim ayub and Farhan. The bowling side also did an Amazing Job that lead us to the Win✨We Are All very Proud Of You!!🇵🇰
Hard luck India A.#INDvsPAK… pic.twitter.com/MBxnz0pZEL
— Saeed Ajmal (@REALsaeedajmal) July 23, 2023

Indian cricketer and commentator Dinesh Karthik also praised Pakistan Shaheens' clinical performance and tweeted that this match reminded him Champions Trophy 2017 final, where Pakistan defeated India by 180 runs at Lords Cricket Ground.

Well played Pakistan A.

Well tried India A .Tough loss . Always a bitter pill to swallow after playing a convincing tournament all the way to the finals .
You live and learn 🙂

Were some of you'll reminded of the champions trophy 2017 after this result #EmergingAsiaCup2023
— DK (@DineshKarthik) July 23, 2023

While Karthik appreciated Pakistan A's performance, former Indian cricketer, Irfan Pathan, left a salty tweet for Pakistani fans, who were trolling him for one of his previous tweets. During T20 World Cup 2022, Irfan's tweet around 'grace' which stirred a controversy across social media.