Wasim Akram’s fondness for India’s never-ending cricketing talent is no secret. The legendary Pakistan cricketer has rarely shied away from showering praise on India’s young cricketers.
But even by his own standards, what Wasim Akram did after watching Shubman Gill bat in India’s Asia Cup 2025 against the UAE in Dubai was a bit over the top.
By the time Shubman Gill got his opportunity to bat, the match was almost over. India had bowled out the UAE for 57 runs, and Abhishek Sharma had taken 10 runs in the first over of India’s innings. In the commentary box, Wasim Akram had already used the word ‘unbelievable’ quite a few times for multiple Indian cricketers, mainly just Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma. But the form of Pakistan captain’s best Reaction came when Shubman Gill danced down the ground to hit his first six of the match. Akram just went bonkers.
It happened in the last ball of the second over of India’s chase, bowled by Muhammad Rohid Khan. The UAE left-arm pacer had taken all of his balls across Gill, but in the last ball, he wanted to attack the stumps. Gill was up to the task. He took a couple of steps towards the bowler, just like he did in the third ball of the over to smash it to the covers for a four, and this time, he used his wrists to flick the ball over fine leg and deep into the stands.
Akram, who was in the commentary box, could not keep calm. “Look at that shot, look at that shot, unbelievable into the stands. Just a flick of the risk, unbelievable shot,” he said with a lot of excitement.
Playing his first T20 in more than a year, Gill looked in fine touch. He scored an unbeaten 20 off just 9 balls to help India chase down 58 in just 4.3 overs. Gil hit two fours and a six in his innings. He also stitched an opening partnership of 48 runs with childhood friend Abhishek Sharma, who scored 30 off 16 balls.
Earlier, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, also playing his first match in a year, baffled the batters with his trickery to bag 4-7 while all-rounder Shivam Dube claimed 3-4 to dismiss UAE in 13.1 overs – the lowest-ever T20 total against India.
UAE batters appeared clueless in front of India’s relentless bowling attack despite Jasprit Bumrah showing signs of rustiness in his first T20 game since the World Cup last year.
India will next face arch-rivals Pakistan in their next Group A match on Sunday. A victory there would ensure a place in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.