You must be aware that India and Pakistan teams are considered arch-rivals in the cricket world. The fans go crazy when an Ind-Pak match is scheduled. Recently, the Men in Blue emerged as the winners of the 2025 Champions Trophy, garnering applause all over. Recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened up and shared his thoughts when he was asked “Who is the better team?”
India team’s six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the group stage of the 2025 Champions Trophy courtesy of Virat Kohli’s century was a respite to the fans of the Indian team. Team India holds a record of more wins over their neighboring country as proof of their better performance on the field. Reportedly, Pakistan has only registered two wins over India in the ICC tournament (in the 2017 Champions Trophy finals) and the group stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
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How did PM Modi respond when asked to pick the better team?
During a conversation with US-based podcaster Lex Fridman, PM Modi was asked about the famous rivalry between Ind-Pak in the cricket world and who has the better team.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi carefully weighed and analyzed his thoughts surrounding India-Pakistan’s rivalry on the cricket field before sharing his opinion on the matter. On the Lex Fridman podcast, he said,
“I think sports have the power to energise the entire world. The spirit of sports brings people across nations together. That’s why I would never want sports to get discredited. I truly believe sports play a major role in human evolution. They’re not just games; they connect people on a deeper level.
“Now coming to the question of who’s better or not. When it comes to the techniques of the game, I’m not an expert. Only those who specialise in it can be the judge of it. They can only decide which team is the best and which players are the best. But sometimes, the results speak for themselves. Just a few days ago, India and Pakistan played a match and the result revealed who was the better team. That’s how we know”
When he was asked about who he thinks is the greatest football player of all time, PM Modi replied – Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. The Argentinians are said to be the best in the history of the game. PM Modi said,
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“It is absolutely true that many regions in India have a strong football culture. Our women’s football team is performing really well, and our men’s team is progressing really well. If we talk about the past, in the 1980’s, one name that always stood out was Diego Maradona. For that generation, he was seen as a true hero and if you ask today’s generation they’ll immediately say Lionel Messi”
Here is the video
Under PM Modi’s tenure, the country witnessed a growth in the sports sector. With the country aspiring to be a sporting nation, India potentially got the opportunity to host the 2036 Olympics.
This is PM Modi’s second appearance in podcasts but this marks his first appearance in a podcast hosted by an international personality. Earlier this year, he appeared in a podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.
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What are your thoughts about PM Modi’s comment? Let us know in the comments.
