Pakistan Lost By An Inning: CDS General Anil Chauhan's Cricket Analogy To Describe Operation Sindoor Success

Pune: India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, made a bold statement, asserting that India inflicted an innings defeat on Pakistan amid recent clashes with the terror-sponsoring state. He emphasised that in a conflict, losses are not as important as how one responds to them and the resulting outcomes.

Addressing an event in Pune, CDS Chauhan stated, “When I was asked about losses on our side, I said these are not important but how you act on them and the results… It would not be very appropriate to talk about losses in terms of numbers… I’ll give a detailed answer.”

Using a cricket analogy, he explained, “Suppose you play a Test match and win by an innings defeat. Then there is no question of how many balls, how many wickets, how many players—it’s an innings defeat.”

Delivering a special lecture on ‘Future Wars and Warfare,’ CDS Chauhan highlighted, “Both nations (India & Pakistan) had tried to build different kinds of capabilities, so obviously there was an inherent amount of risk into this. None of the capabilities that we had acquired had actually been into the battlefield. There is always an element of risk into it, but as they say, you cannot succeed if you don’t take that type of risk. We knew that we have a better counter-drone system.”

Speaking at Savitribai Phule Pune University, CDS Chauhan addressed Operation Sindoor, stating, “As far as the government is concerned, it was not about retribution. I believe it was about defining the limits of tolerance. State-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan had to stop, and Pakistan should not be able to hold India hostage to terror activities. It was also emphasised that India will not live under the shadow of terror or nuclear blackmail.”

Elaborating further, he said, “I believe professional forces are not deterred by setbacks or losses. In war, what matters most is maintaining high morale even in the face of adversity. Adaptability is a key characteristic of a professional force, you must analyse what went wrong, rectify mistakes, and move forward. Fear should never hold you back.”