Win Projections to be updated soon
Over 240 million people have a strong ancestry in cricket, and the country had hoped that the Green Shirts would win the championship again. At the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which Pakistan was hosting for the third time, nobody could have predicted that the Pakistani squad would lose in the group stage. In front of our terrestrial colour television screens, we were presumably the last generation to fully enjoy the unadulterated charm, unrestrained passion, and thrilling excitement of the Indo-Pak cricket rivalry.
Aside from the media uproar, I’m disappointed as a millennial cricket fan who had the honour of seeing Pakistan dominate cricket in the 1990s! The excitement has unfortunately started to wane, particularly in the wake of Pakistan’s crushing defeat to India in the Champions Trophy group stage. It is now a difficult task for Pakistani cricket to return to its former grandeur. Incredulous, fans are wondering why Team Pakistan didn’t live up to the hype.
What circumstances led to their premature exit from the tournament?
Well, it seems the cricket board hasn’t learnt the lessons yet, as it’s evident from the recent announcement of Pakistan’s upcoming tour of New Zealand, where the Green Shirts have scheduled to play a five-T20 and three-ODI series, from March 16. The team announcement, contrary to the “Surgery Preps”, has surprised once again, with the same “Stars” being included in the squad, and no one has even bothered to address the criticism.
Moreover, Muhammad Rizwan has been retained as captain – the one who failed to get Pakistan through to the semi-finals! Instead, he should have announced his retirement. The board has retained him as captain, isn’t this making a mockery of ourselves? Look at Australia’s captain, Steve Smith, who announced his retirement after the team lost semi-final against India.
View this post on Instagram
Salman Agha’s appointment as the T20 team’s skipper has caused millions of cricket fans around the country to take notice. The most common question is: what qualifications does he have to support his selection as the T20 team’s captain? It’s an unimaginable decision indeed.
The contentious squad assignment
With 15 players hampered by injuries, the team lacks both sting and bite, and Cricket Pakistan is facing a selection dilemma that is turning into a nightmare for run chasers. Cricket commentators and fans were critical of the PCB’s announcement of the 15-man Champions Trophy squad.
In light of the fact that Saim Ayub has already been ruled out due to a knee injury acquired during the Test series against South Africa last year, the choice to start Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman as openers shocked everyone when they looked at the roster more closely. In the opening encounter against New Zealand, Fakhar Zaman suffered a rib injury that prevented him from continuing in the tournament, and there are currently rumours that he may declare an early retirement. This was a major setback for the Green Shirts.
View this post on Instagram
Coach Aqib Javed’s error
“Losing doesn’t mean that we change the entire team and bring in the Under-19 team,” head coach Aqib Javed stated during a press conference on February 26 of last month. The head coach would be better off leaving his job and returning home. “What other option do we have besides Babar?” he added. Since Babar Azam is a number three batsman, you have done him damage by making him open, Mr. Head Coach Aqib Javed.
Let’s look at his average over the final five games; he wasn’t making any runs, and he was feeling the heat himself.
Prior to CT 2025, Babar Azam had only amassed 88 runs at an average of 17.60 in the previous five innings of ODI matches. The number three spot, where Babar Azam has amassed nearly 5,000 runs at an average of 60.18, provides assistance for his batting. Head coach Aqib Javed’s prediction that Babar Azam would open and post a “big score” in the Champions Trophy was pure fiction if the player has previously scored more than 5,000 runs at number three.
The players who unexpectedly appeared
Faheem Ashraf’s most recent Asia Cup ODI match was against Sri Lanka on September 11, 2023, in which Pakistan lost badly. In the meantime, Khushdil Shah has been preparing for a return to the squad since his final game on October 7, 2023.
Usman Khan, who has only played 18 T20I matches and scored 232 runs at an average of 15.46, was unable to make his ODI debut for Pakistan prior to the start of the CT. The issue is whether players may be selected for the ODI team just on the basis of how well they perform in league games. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has alluded to adjustments to the Pakistani squad with just one day remaining before teams could make roster changes.
Surprisingly, however, the selection committee and skipper Rizwan came to an agreement after an hour-long meeting to maintain the same roster. This choice ultimately proved to be a costly error, ending Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the tournament.
Statistics on dismissals provide a picture.
After three decades, Pakistan has hosted an ICC tournament. Sadly, the team only had one opportunity to play in front of their supporters in the opening match against New Zealand, where they were bowled out for 260 runs after the Kiwis amassed an enormous 320 runs in 50 overs.
Then, in the second match against India, which was played in Dubai and followed the tournament’s hybrid concept, team India won by 6 wickets against a score of 241 in the 42nd over, capping up a one-sided contest. Pakistan was eliminated from the competition as a result of this loss. The Green Shirts’ tournament journey came to an abrupt end when the rainstorm at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium during the last group encounter against Bangladesh soaked the ground and drowned their campaign.
The decision-making process must be permanently altered due to its flaws. Even though chairman Mohsin Naqvi constructed state-of-the-art cricket fields, the harsh truth is that he failed to choose a team that could successfully defend its championship. Now that Pakistani cricket is led by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, it is imperative that the game be revitalised; we can no longer afford to stay stuck in the late 1990s.
Take India, for example. They are currently a powerful force in international cricket after undergoing substantial change. Team India’s outstanding performance demonstrates their contemporary style of play. Cricket players have changed along with the game, but why aren’t our players prepared to embrace this new, reckless style of the game? The PCB needs to give itself a little reflection.
India
