Rawalpindi: Pakistan’s forgettable ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign ended in a rather disappointing manner as their final group stage match against Bangladesh was washed out. The hosts were thus denied a single victory in the seventh round of the tournament, a result which would have been impossible to imagine before the competition began. It is ironic, as the venue in question is Rawalpindi, where Pakistan lost the Test series to Bangladesh in a brutal manner, which is another sad and pathetic chapter in their cricketing history.
To say the least, it has been a tournament to forget for Pakistan. The host nation was expected to do well and would have former cricketers and analysts backing them to make it through to the knockouts. Unfortunately, however, from the onset, Pakistan’s performance was lacking, and this mantra of ’beautiful cricket’ was soon replaced with ‘beautiful balance’ as the frequently changing captains of England played a big factor in that. Versus New Zealand and India, they suffered heavy defeats; they were not able to fight competitively in either game. Specifically, after the loss to India, Pakistan’s cricket team has triggered a crisis within the country, with wide-ranging expectations of major changes in management in the Pakistan cricket team and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah, among other key players, are under the scanner for their lacklustre performances. Criticism has been severe for Mohammad Rizwan, especially in the crunch match against India, for his defensive game. Pakistan has been accused of playing an out-of-date version of cricket that does not feature the modern aggression needed as they look to improve their white-ball formats.
Had Bangladesh not won, a win against them would have salvaged a little pride and shocked some of the harsh criticism. But somehow Bangladesh, too, has seemed to skip the drama this time, winning just a single match and losing both and extending the streak of losing an ODI to five. In matches, it is their bowlers who have been the only real resistance, whilst their batting has been inconsistent.
However, in the end, nature got the last word. The match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain in Rawalpindi.
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