Win Projections to be updated soon
The ICC Champions Trophy is well underway, and two Group A teams—India and New Zealand—have already advanced to the tournament’s 2025 semifinals. However, after suffering a crushing loss to bitter rival India on Sunday, February 23, Pakistan was eliminated.
For those who are unaware, Pakistan’s batting performance in the tournament thus far has been dismal. The core members of their batting lineup, Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, are either not making enough batsmanship or their scoring pace has been incredibly slow.
Aakash Chopra, a former cricket player, has blamed Pakistan’s hitters for the team’s early Champions Trophy exit because none of them have scored a hundred runs thus far, making them the only team with such improbable numbers.
Aakash Chopra described Pakistan’s forthcoming match against Bangladesh, which is scheduled for Thursday,
February 27, in Rawalpindi, as a “dead rubber,” considering that both teams are already out of the running for the Champions Trophy. He did, however, stress the batting shortcomings that have raised doubts about the Pakistani team throughout the tournament and the vital situation of playing for pride.
“Obviously, Pakistan-Bangladesh is a dead rubber. Although it makes no sense to have this match, there are several reasons why it cannot be a useless game. So far, it’s been a batter’s tournament. In a video posted to his YouTube account, Chopra stated, “With the exception of the hosts, Pakistan, no team has players who haven’t scored a hundred.”
“Against India, Towhid Hridoy scored a hundred. But so far, none of their team members have taken such action. If the team cannot reach 250, how can a player reach 100? But Bangladesh too only managed 228 runs, despite having a hundred as well,” Chopra continued.
Pakistan will probably concentrate on winning their final game of the season as the tournament progresses, hoping to address their batting problems and regain some pride to close off the competition on a positive note.
India
