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Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan believes his team's approach to ICC tournaments has often been shaped too heavily by matches against India. Speaking on a podcast, the 27-year-old said Pakistan sometimes treated the India fixture as the defining moment of a World Cup instead of keeping their focus on winning the tournament itself. His comments offer a rare insight into the team's mindset.

Shadab Questions Pakistan's World Cup Mentality

Shadab said every team enters a World Cup with one goal, to lift the trophy. He feels Pakistan often lost sight of that objective because too much importance was placed on beating India.

According to him, the pressure surrounding the India game changed the team's thinking. Instead of treating it as one match in a long tournament, it often became the main target.

Speaking on the podcast, Shadab said, "When you go to a World Cup, your aim should be to win the tournament. But when you play India, the feeling becomes that you simply cannot afford to lose. We end up connecting too many things to that one match."

🔴 THE INDIA OBSESSION RUINS PAKISTAN WORLD CUP 🤯

Shadab Khan🎙️: The goal is to win the World Cup, not just beat India. But after losing to India, people act as if the World Cup is over. We still had a chance, but that one defeat changed everything. pic.twitter.com/1QDUOcQQky

— Sam (@cricsam02) July 19, 2026

His comments come after Pakistan once again struggled to make a lasting impact at a recent ICC event despite showing promise in the early stages.

One Defeat Should Not Define A Tournament

Shadab said losing to India always hurts, but it should not decide the fate of an entire campaign.

He pointed out that World Cups involve several teams and many matches, giving every side opportunities to recover after an early setback.

Explaining his view, he said, "Losing to India starts feeling like losing the whole World Cup. But I always believed we still had enough matches left to turn things around and fight for the title."

Pakistan have often recovered from difficult starts in ICC tournaments, but they have also missed chances to build on early momentum when results against other teams mattered just as much.

Earlier Remarks Sparked Debate In Pakistan

Shadab's comments follow another debate that began earlier this year after Pakistan lost to India by 61 runs in the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Several former Pakistan players, including Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf, strongly criticised the team's performance after that defeat.

Responding to the criticism, Shadab said comparisons with past generations should be made carefully.

He praised the Pakistani sides of the 1990s and said they remain the benchmark for him.

He explained, "We all have our own cricketing heroes. For me, the teams from the 1990s were special. If you look at the 1999 squad on paper, I don't think Pakistan has had a stronger side, and it will be difficult to build another team like that."

Shadab's latest remarks shift the conversation away from results alone. They raise a broader question about whether Pakistan's biggest challenge at World Cups has been handling the weight of expectations surrounding one fixture rather than the tournament as a whole.