'Inhe koi emerging ka matlab bata do bhai' - Fans react to Pakistan A captain Mohammad Haris's bold reply to criticism over Emerging Asia Cup 2023 win

Mohammad Haris (Source: Twitter)

Pakistan A won the ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup on July 23 after crushing India A by 128 runs in the final. However, the Men in Green received harsh criticism from fans for fielding experienced players in a tournament intended for budding young talents. Pakistan Shaheens had seven players who had represented their country, whilst India A had none.

While criticism mounts on Pakistan for playing with an experienced side and so undermining their success, Shaheens captain Mohammad Haris has come up with a bold reply. The wicketkeeper-batter hit back at critics saying that India had a chance to field an experienced side and that no one restricted them from doing so. He added that those seven players have played only a few international matches, whereas Yash Dull and Co. had plenty of experience playing in the Indian Premier League (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.

The Indian Cricket Board sent a young side, who performed brilliantly throughout the competition, going unbeaten till the summit clash. They even outperformed Pakistan A in the group stage, successfully chasing down a 206-run mark with eight wickets and 80 balls to spare. It is noteworthy that the average age of India A was 20.80 while that of Pakistan A was 23.20.

Tayyab Tahir's sensational knock set the stage for Pakistan's stunning victory

Tayyab Tahir’s magnificent hundred and half-centuries from openers Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan helped Pakistan to post a mammoth total of 352-8 in the final. In reply, apart from opener Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant 51-ball 61, none of the other batters stepped up against the arch-rivals. A 3-fer by Sufiyan Muqeem set the tone for Pakistan's massive win as they bowled out for 224.

Speaking after the match, Haris hailed the 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," Haris said.

Here's how fans reacted to Mohammad Haris' statement: 

Emerging trophy is for emerging players not for emerged players like Harris, who had played men's world cup or 29 year olds Babar contemporary..nd winning is not the most important..else check how many times Pak lost in under 19 World Cups in last few years

— debu (@DEBUJOSH) August 6, 2023

The actual meaning of emerging players -
"A player who is under 25 years and has not played much international cricket."

— Chikuu...🥀🍁 (@biswajitchiku04) August 5, 2023

Inhe koi emerging ka Matlab Bata do bhai 🤣

— Dipanjan Chatterjee (@I_am_DipC) August 6, 2023

Everyone will remember his team for getting defeated by an U-22 team with absolutely no international exposure. LMFOA what a shame 😂.

— Akshay Ganapathy (@DGAkshay) August 6, 2023

That's emerging cup not ageing cup

— 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐔𝐍 (@TarunTammana03) August 5, 2023

260 match ka experience kise tha bhai 😭? Aur emerging palyer me 30 saal ke players😭😭🤣🤡

— RCB fan (@cricket_memer) August 6, 2023

I thought it was “emerging” players’ tournament. Wouldn’t they normally young?

— Kpamit (@Kpamit1) August 6, 2023

That means you agree that IPL is much superior than your PSL. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/h2jUq3nFV4

— Somdeep 𝕏 (@SardarSomdeep) August 6, 2023