The verbal duel between Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Kaif has intensified during the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, with the former Pakistan pacer responding strongly to the former India batsman’s criticism.
The exchange began after Kaif suggested that Amir had been making provocative comments about India simply to attract attention during his analysis of the tournament on Pakistani television channels. Amir has repeatedly sparked debates since the start of the competition. He earlier described Abhishek Sharma as a “hard worker” and also predicted that India would fail to reach the semi-finals.
Those comments did not go down well with Kaif, who argued that such statements should not be taken seriously as Amir was simply trying to stay in the limelight by targeting India.
Amir, however, responded harshly on his YouTube channel, questioning Kaif’s credentials and suggesting that the former India cricketer should be grateful to Sourav Ganguly for backing him during his playing days. The left-arm pacer also mocked Kaif’s batting record in franchise cricket and claimed that the Indian had represented the national team largely due to his fielding skills.
“I don’t know about his cricket career, how much he has played. I checked his stats; he only played 29 matches in the IPL. He has a strike rate of 103. He said he was talking about India to get attention. First of all, I don’t need to get attention by talking about India. Mr. Kaif, I have played 350 T20s, you can check my stats. Also, the main point guard in cricket nahi khela (I didn’t play cricket just because of my fielding),” Amir said.
“I have played after giving performances. Aap Dada ko thank you bole (You should be grateful to Dada, Sourav Ganguly). I have heard that you played cricket just for your fielding. You are a cricketer; these kinds of statements do not suit you,” he added.
Amir also clarified that his comments were not directed at India personally. According to the 33-year-old, he had earlier rated India highly when senior stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were regulars in the T20 team.
“There was nothing to feel bad about. It was just about giving opinions. I am doing it, and so are you. When Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were there, I always used to pick India as favourite,” Amir said.
“Right now, I don’t think they are favourites. I don’t know where that comment about me being an attention seeker comes from. You have played less T20S than me. Even I can say that you talked about Mohammad Amir to gain some attention in Pakistan,” he added.
Earlier, Kaif had also questioned Amir’s credibility by pointing out his performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, particularly Pakistan’s disappointing exit against the United States in the group stage.
Kaif represented India in 13 Tests and 125 ODIs, scoring over 3000 runs in the two formats. Although he never played a T20I, he played in 75 T20 matches and scored 1237 runs. He was also part of the Rajasthan Royals team that won the inaugural Indian Premier League title in 2008 and later worked as an assistant coach with the Delhi Capitals under Ricky Ponting.
Amir, on the other hand, enjoyed a successful international career with Pakistan, playing 36 Tests, 61 ODIs and 62 T20Is and claiming a total of 271 wickets across all formats.