• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Not Even One Percent Of What They Had Kapil Dev Compares Paks Golden Era To Present Talent Pool

"Not even one percent of what they had": Kapil Dev compares PAK's golden era to present talent pool

Akshita Patel

Kapil Dev questions Pakistan's quality of talent [Source: @OneCricketApp, @CallMeSheri1_/X.com]Kapil Dev questions Pakistan's quality of talent [Source: @OneCricketApp, @CallMeSheri1_/X.com]

After the Asia Cup 2025 results, former India captain Kapil Dev has weighed in with a hard-hitting opinion, saying the current Pakistan team does not even have one percent of the talent that their legendary players of the 1980s and 1990s possessed.

Pakistan lost the Asia Cup 2025 final to India by 5 wickets in a last-over thriller, marking their third loss to the men in blue in the same tournament.

The Salman Agha-led side looked listless on most occasions, letting the momentum slip even in moments they could’ve capitalised on to put India under pressure.

Kapil Dev compares the current Pakistan generation to the 90s legends

Meanwhile, talking to India Today, former legend Kapil Dev, who led India to the 1983 World Cup win, said Pakistan cricket once produced some of the finest names the sport has ever seen, from Imran Khan to Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis.

But in his view, the current generation lacks both the flair and the fight of their predecessors. He said the present crop of players does not possess even one percent of the talent the legends used to have.

“Yeah, I think they don’t have the similar talent they used to have in the ’80s, ’90s or before that. Pakistan has given us, to the world, one of the best cricketers. You can talk about Imran Khan, you can talk about Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. They have given us that talent. But unfortunately, we can’t see similar talent today — not even one percent of what they used to have,” Dev said.

Notably, the last time Pakistan won against India was in the 2021 T20 World Cup held in Dubai. That was also their first victory against the men in blue in World Cup history.

Kapil Dev criticises the no-handshake row

The former all-rounder also expressed disappointment that the India-Pakistan rivalry is no longer about pure cricket but has been overshadowed by politics and off-field controversies.

The Asia Cup itself saw tensions flare, with India refusing to shake hands after the first group game and plenty of heated sledging in later matches.

“I just want to say — your responsibility, and responsibility for the entire media also we should look into the sports side rather than looking into the politics side. Yes, media has the responsibility to bring everything on the table, but as a sportsman, I would like to see that we should stick to sports. It will be much better,” he added.

With India cruising past Pakistan, questions are being raised about the future of this iconic rivalry and whether Pakistan can ever return to its golden era of producing world-class match-winners.