Pakistan’s Champions Trophy meltdown follows the usual pattern

Pakistan's tournament is effectively over, a fittingly underwhelming conclusion to their first time hosting a major international event in three decades

Title-holders and hosts Pakistan have managed to crash out of the Champions Trophy 2025 in spectacular fashion, failing to make it past the group stage after dismal defeats to New Zealand and arch-rivals India. Though they still have a dead rubber against Bangladesh on Thursday, their tournament is effectively over, a fittingly underwhelming conclusion to their first time hosting a major international event in three decades.

Pakistan skipper Rizwan believes that Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah are of the same quality (as bowlers) as Jadeja and Axar. You can’t make these things up.
Delulu Is The Only Sululu 🤪😂

Please stay like this, Pakistan. Even though matches are one-sided…Pakistan’s meme game…

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 24, 2025

There was a time when the Pakistan team boasted legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf👌a golden era of sheer talent and dominance And now, this team feels like a group project where no one knows what they’re doing,…

— Mayank kulshrestha (@mayankkul6) February 24, 2025

Wasimm 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/3M54OiD3Ge

— Ans (@PakForeverIA) February 23, 2025

Let us dissect where it all went wrong for Mohammad Rizwan’s men in this 50-over trainwreck:

Erratic build-up: Tactical mishaps

Rizwan was handed the white-ball captaincy in October last year and initially showed promise, leading Pakistan to an unexpected 2-1 ODI series win over world champions Australia, their first such win in 22 years. They even managed to outplay Zimbabwe and inflicted a historic 3-0 whitewash on South Africa in their own backyard.

But just when Pakistan seemed to be getting things right, their usual chaos returned. Rising star Saim Ayub injured his ankle during a Test in South Africa, and in classic PCB fashion, the team management waited until the very last moment to announce the Champions Trophy squad, only to realise Ayub wasn’t fit after all. To make matters worse, their only established opener, Fakhar Zaman, was ruled out after the opening match, a 60-run thrashing by New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s much-hyped pace attack of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, who were rested from the Test series to keep them 'fresh', looked anything but fresh, utterly ineffective at controlling the death overs.

Flawed squad choices

Pakistan selectors ignored widespread calls for a second frontline spinner, relying instead on part-timers Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah, who managed to take a total of one wicket in two matches.

But the real trouble came due to the lack of a proper opener. Instead, they promoted an out-of-form Babar Azam to partner Zaman. When Zaman inevitably got injured, they brought in Imam-ul-Haq, who was far from repaying their faith by scoring a only 10 runs as Pakistan were steamrolled by India last Sunday.

Then came another blunder, selecting all-rounders Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf based on their performances in Bangladesh’s T20 league, despite neither having played an ODI for years. Former captain and TV pundit Rashid Latif didn’t hold back, calling it a 'political selection' and blaming outside influences.

A nostalgic trip to the 1990s

Pakistan’s outdated approach was called out by none other than former captain Shahid Afridi, who perfectly summed up their backward tactics: "In 2025 Pakistan was playing the cricket style of the 1980s and 1990s while other teams had progressed well to adopt an aggressive and modern style. The ailment of playing too many dot balls also hurt our game."

And the stats don’t lie, Pakistan’s chronic obsession with dot balls was on full display. Against India, they chewed up 152 dot balls while crawling to 241 in 49.4 overs, including a record 28 consecutive scoreless deliveries in the first six overs. Against New Zealand, they played 162 dot balls in their total of 260 in 47.2 overs.

Afridi didn’t mince words: "The mindset of Pakistan players does not match with modern-day cricket. We need a complete overhaul of the system so that we can produce players with an aggressive mindset."

A complete overhaul sounds ambitious, for now, Pakistan can sit back and reflect on how they turned a home tournament into a nationwide disappointment.

(With quotes from AFP)

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