What went wrong with Pakistan's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign?

[mominsaigol]

Some of the things i can quickly think of.

A) Unexpected injuries

Losing saim and fakhar essentially killed the entire batting lineup.

B) Not understanding conditons

Every team understood our home conditons better then we did.

C) Fielding

^^ Its nothing new, Pakistan is filled with butter fingers.

D) Poor squad selection

Even with the absence of fakhar and saim, it made zero sense to pick up faheem, khusdil and many others over sufiyan and many uncapped players who would have been better picks.

E) Poor captaincy and out of form players

Ba/Riz, Nuff said.

 

[Itachi]

Nothing went wrong to be honest. The team played exactly it was expected to be played.

 

[sweep_shot]

Team combination wasn't good. That was the biggest factor.

 

[hamzie]

Squad

 

[kingusama92]

100% squad selection.

Even if we assume Saim and Fakhar were there, the team was terribly constructed.

1) No second specialist spinner
2) The fifth bowling option was a combo of mediocre part-timers
3) The middle order was full of accumulators
4) The main finisher was a T20 slogger (to his credit he did well enough)
5) Bench options were basically unusable (Hasnain, Faheem, Usman)

Look at the number of flaws. It's disgraceful.

Even Saim and Fakhar couldn't have saved them here.

 

[Asif321]

Kill the merit and you will be shamed. Thats what happened.

 

[jamie smith]

It was bound to happed when u have clowns like naqvi,aqib and rizwan in team management.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Squad was pathetic... SIMPLE

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Bowling is just not good enough.

Bowling averages since tri series ,

SSA - 42
Abrar - 49
Naseem - 56
Rauf - 52
Khushdil - 104
Agha - 134

Zero wicket taking ability in PAK/UAE conditions.

 

[ChennaiFan]

Bowling is just not good enough.

Bowling averages since tri series ,

SSA - 42
Abrar - 49
Naseem - 56
Rauf - 52
Khushdil - 104
Agha - 134

Zero wicket taking ability in PAK/UAE conditions.

Exactly! The bowling show by Pakistani bowlers yesterday was mediocre. Abrar bowled well and according to the conditions. But the rest were poor.

 

[mon858]

Went as expected. Fakhar and Siam when they were there and performed carried the weight of passengers and players with wrong mindset. I am talking Rizwan in particular.

Lack of ability to continue to play at normal odi pace of even 4 to 5 runs and over is astonishing.

In nz game 10 overs for 22 runs.

In India game after a decent start, you again get next 10 overs, when field is spread overs 11 to 2 for 27 runs only.

I really think both games were lost by batting. Yes, a specialist spinner could have helped without middle over breakthroughs but I don't think even with thst you could win with 240.

Also, then without kushdil your tail starts with 5 wickets down and you would get even less runs.

If you played with positive intent and had better strike rotation skill even (don't need 5 sixes in those first 20 overs) then you can get 280 to 320 depending on how finish goes.

That is bare minimum in this day and age, and would have been possible if in both games one 10 over chunk didn't go for 22 or 27 runs.

Stop blaming the bowling, yes there is room for improvement but keep in mind this:
1. Catches dropped. That matters
2. Same bowling helped win aus and saf series when conditions were bit more bowling friendly
3. Even other teams bowling go for 300+ these days so that's not a huge anomaly

It's the batting that had much more impact, specifically the attitude and approach to batting. Can't believe they had so much lack of belief and fear that they sent Fakhar out to bat against nz when 3 to 4 fit batters were sitting in dressing room. This killed the momentum even more.

Anyway, for our team talent and skill level this was pretty much expected. The stupidity of pcb icc to schedule both pak games so early now host nation has no interest after 4 days of tournament. They could have kept one of pak India or pak nz games last or near end at least.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Defensive mentality

Selection is a very subjective matter. Fans of other teams also often cry about so called selection blunders in the 15 and in the playing XI. But ultimately it’s down to the playing XI to prove everyone wrong by justifying through their performances their philosophy in making those selections.

Take Bharat for instance, in the first few overs everyone said we started poorly as a pace unit. Shami got down and out of the field. At that point many started questioning why not we played Arshdeep? Why not we selected Siraj? Very genuine questions at that time. But how did the playing XI respond? Pandya as back up pacer bowled steady line and got Babar out, Harshit despite his inexperience started hitting good length with pace and bounce and within few overs we all felt bit relaxed that ok these guys got it.

That’s what was missing in Pakistan team. The XI players on the field did not perform as a unit to hide the deficiencies.

Rohit Sharma could have also scored 70-100 yesterday but he put the team first and attacked and got out. Part of the game. But his attitude sets the tone for us. Your batters for whatever reason did not try hard enough to play the shots and loom for runs on every ball. Too many dot balls. 20-40 more runs yesterday could have made a huge difference.

 

[adi_62941]

Pakistan white ball team is always pathetic in Pakistan/UAE conditions. We have a history of losing against A teams in these batting friendly conditions. We can only do well as a team when we have some fast bowlers friendly wickets.
Our team is lift by good bowling by our bowlers. Plus we have failed to developed any 4th seamer for white ball format.
Seems like saya corporation boys are not letting anybody to come in team and perform

 

[Hellion]

Very average team without Saim Ayub.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

This time, everything went wrong in all departments:

1. Missing Fakhar and Saim was a big blow.
2. Top order is timid and showed no intent during the batting powerplay.
3. Pacers were expensive and predictable.
4. There was a lack of quality spin, and the part-time spinners were ineffective.
5. There were no power hitters in the middle and death overs.

 

[BouncerGuy]

This time, everything went wrong in all departments:

1. Missing Fakhar and Saim was a big blow.
2. Top order is timid and showed no intent during the batting powerplay.
3. Pacers were expensive and predictable.
4. There was a lack of quality spin, and the part-time spinners were ineffective.
5. There were no power hitters in the middle and death overs.

as usual

 

[RidiculousMan]

Some of the things i can quickly think of.

A) Unexpected injuries

Losing saim and fakhar essentially killed the entire batting lineup.

B) Not understanding conditons

Every team understood our home conditons better then we did.

C) Fielding

^^ Its nothing new, Pakistan is filled with butter fingers.

D) Poor squad selection

Even with the absence of fakhar and saim, it made zero sense to pick up faheem, khusdil and many others over sufiyan and many uncapped players who would have been better picks.

E) Poor captaincy and out of form players

Ba/Riz, Nuff said.

Squad selection for the most part.

Most people knew from the get go it was not an appropriate squad.

Everything went wrong from there on. You can count.

 

[Master Blaster]

Wrong format.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I cannot believe or understand how a team can be 22/2 after 10 overs while chasing 320. I'd rather be 46/4 & lose the match then this kind of start to the innings.

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

Some of the things i can quickly think of.

A) Unexpected injuries

Losing saim and fakhar essentially killed the entire batting lineup.

B) Not understanding conditons

Every team understood our home conditons better then we did.

C) Fielding

^^ Its nothing new, Pakistan is filled with butter fingers.

D) Poor squad selection

Even with the absence of fakhar and saim, it made zero sense to pick up faheem, khusdil and many others over sufiyan and many uncapped players who would have been better picks.

E) Poor captaincy and out of form players

Ba/Riz, Nuff said.

Bro 2nd spinner is not an issue you look at Australia they barely play one spinner and win tournaments what stopping pakistan doing that pak got 3 bowlers who bowl around 140 just like australian trio just an observation your take on this?

 

[Rana]

Squad was pathetic... SIMPLE

Squad for Australia isn’t perfect either

Do you see them making excuses?

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

Squad for Australia isn’t perfect either

Do you see them making excuses?

For this i have to agree with you bro look at australia barely playing one spinner no trio of fast bowlers they have in cummins starc hazlewood still ended up winning vs good england team no excuses at all from them they not even talking about picking 2nd spinner or missing their trio fast bowlers.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan's ODI team came into the CT in red hot form

- Beating Australia 2-1 in Australia
- Beating South Africa 3-0 in South Africa
- Beating Zimbabwe 2-1 in Zimbabwe

The players who played a key role in these victories ie Saim Ayub got injured. The selectors for some reason dropped Irfan Niazi, dropped Suffiyan Muqeem who was looking like a good middle over spin option.

Out of the blue the selectors decided to recall Khusdil, Faheem Ashraf, Imam ul Haq. The selection committee badly needs to be axed with immediate effect and be black listed from future employment with the PCB for a good ten years and a notice should be issued to the public and media that whoever chooses to hire these individuals will be doing so at their own risk.

The selection committee always gets away with unforgivable blunders and then come back a few years later or go in the media with no questions asked.

 

[Rana]

Pakistan fans and their excuses:

“why didn’t we pick an extra spinner?”

Well Afghanistan had 3 spinners that all make the Pakistan side if not all the sides in the world as spinners. What happened against South Africa? Could they prevent 300 bowling first?

“Why did we pick Faheem Ashraf”

Well, you lost your 2 important games with Faheem on the bench. You can’t blame him for this failure at all!

“Why did we pick Khushdil Shah?”

Well, he clearly proved to be your best player in 2 games. How can you scapegoat him now?

“Who in their right mind picked Usman Khan?”

Again, Usman hasn’t played a single ODI match since he was carried in the squad for God knows how long. How can you scapegoat him??

“Why pick Tayyab Tahir?”

Why pick a guy who’s given his best performances in the top 4-5 in domestics to bat at number 6?? How can you scapegoat a guy who hasn’t played in the position where he earned his call up?

“why not pick a specialist opener”

This is a fair point, but why pick the one you threw out because of a lack of intent only to bring him back knowing the current issue is a lack of intent?!

 

[emranabbas]

Pakistan fans and their excuses:

“why didn’t we pick an extra spinner?”

Well Afghanistan had 3 spinners that all make the Pakistan side if not all the sides in the world as spinners. What happened against South Africa? Could they prevent 300 bowling first?

“Why did we pick Faheem Ashraf”

Well, you lost your 2 important games with Faheem on the bench. You can’t blame him for this failure at all!

“Why did we pick Khushdil Shah?”

Well, he clearly proved to be your best player in 2 games. How can you scapegoat him now?

“Who in their right mind picked Usman Khan?”

Again, Usman hasn’t played a single ODI match since he was carried in the squad for God knows how long. How can you scapegoat him??

“Why pick Tayyab Tahir?”

Why pick a guy who’s given his best performances in the top 4-5 in domestics to bat at number 6?? How can you scapegoat a guy who hasn’t played in the position where he earned his call up?

“why not pick a specialist opener”

This is a fair point, but why pick the one you threw out because of a lack of intent only to bring him back knowing the current issue is a lack of intent?!

All these excuses are to take away blame from their favourites Imam babar rizwan shaheen naseem and rauf why are these 6 not accountabe? they went as show pieces?

 

[emranabbas]

Some posters are embarrassed they were vouching for rubbish like Imam babar rizwan shaheen naseem and rauf and now they have no face to show on this forum so they are now blaming everyone left right centre except these 6

 

[RidiculousMan]

I cannot believe or understand how a team can be 22/2 after 10 overs while chasing 320. I'd rather be 46/4 & lose the match then this kind of start to the innings.

Fear of losing

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It's time for us to accept that this team is mentally weak, incapable of handling pressure and simply not good enough. It's a chastening thing to admit because I consider myself an optimist rather than a pessimist, but that is the reality. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf were all guys I backed because they have been the core of this team and have delivered some notable performances in white-ball in the past few years. But what is the point of winning these meaningless bilaterals if you cannot deliver when it matters most in ICC events? Its 3 ICC tournaments now that these guys have not only failed to deliver, but also cracked under the pressure. As a fan who desperately wants to see this team do well its really disappointing because you feel that hope and optimism being knocked out of you with each tournament.

It's also an eye-opening thing to admit that players who are supposed to be our best players, and whom we have invested in for years just simply aren't good enough to go shoulder to shoulder with the best players of the other countries.

Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman and Salman Ali Agha are the only players right now that look like they could walk into the playing elevens of other top teams right now. And I fear the end may be near for Fakhar Zaman too considering his history of injuries in recent times.

Pakistan cricket is in a very dark place yet again. And I don't think there is any way out of it anytime soon. A far more severe beating is in-store for us next year at the T20 World Cup.

 

[shaz619]

I think most of you have already covered everything so I will just emphasise what a cowardly cricketer Rizwan truly is, as a captain, as the leader of the team with complete selection powers; he doesn’t have the heart to fight for his country. I know the results have not always gone his way, but Shan Masood as captain at least tried to battle for Pakistan despite his deficiencies.

I think @mominsaigol or @Rana mentioned that Sarfraz wasn’t the most talented batter himself like Rizwan, but he had a fighting heart, he was always trying to move the game forward.

I will take you back to the CT 17 Final, and not many people will remember this, but Fakhar Zaman was struggling badly to get going during the PP. If Azhar Ali was to play like how he normally does, within his shell like how Misbah taught him, I think he would have put the entire line up under immense pressure; but on that day, even a guy who was not meant to be a professional batter, dared to be great. Azhar thought screw what Misbah said, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring glory to my country, and am not his biggest fan but in those PP overs Azhar took the initiative and ended up striking at 90, it took the weight of Fakhar Zaman’s shoulders and gave him room to breath and play the knock which ultimately won the game.

When you’re inherently a selfish, self-serving stat padder who politicks behind the scenes to keep out more deserving players, worse still coaching staff!! Then when the going gets tough you’re not going to show any marbles when your country needs you to play out of your skin and attempt to turn the tide despite how you normally play, the man has no pride to represent Pakistan. He’s a fraud, a CHARLATAN!

 

[emranabbas]

Squad was pathetic... SIMPLE

Bouncer bhai why was the squad rubbish?

You had all your favorites in the squad

Imam babar rizwan shaheen naseem rauf abrar

These 7 couldn't win a match?

 

[emranabbas]

It's time for us to accept that this team is mentally weak, incapable of handling pressure and simply not good enough. It's a chastening thing to admit because I consider myself an optimist rather than a pessimist, but that is the reality. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf were all guys I backed because they have been the core of this team and have delivered some notable performances in white-ball in the past few years. But what is the point of winning these meaningless bilaterals if you cannot deliver when it matters most in ICC events? Its 3 ICC tournaments now that these guys have not only failed to deliver, but also cracked under the pressure. As a fan who desperately wants to see this team do well its really disappointing because you feel that hope and optimism being knocked out of you with each tournament.

It's also an eye-opening thing to admit that players who are supposed to be our best players, and whom we have invested in for years just simply aren't good enough to go shoulder to shoulder with the best players of the other countries.

Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman and Salman Ali Agha are the only players right now that look like they could walk into the playing elevens of other top teams right now. And I fear the end may be near for Fakhar Zaman too considering his history of injuries in recent times.

Pakistan cricket is in a very dark place yet again. And I don't think there is any way out of it anytime soon. A far more severe beating is in-store for us next year at the T20 World Cup.

The South africa debate settled now

South africa team is washed up they are not good as India and newzealand like you were making it out to be so that win was no big win

What you saw yesterday is the reality of this team.

Just a tip abrar will be useless too on pitches that won't suit bowlers

 

[shaz619]

It's time for us to accept that this team is mentally weak, incapable of handling pressure and simply not good enough. It's a chastening thing to admit because I consider myself an optimist rather than a pessimist, but that is the reality. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf were all guys I backed because they have been the core of this team and have delivered some notable performances in white-ball in the past few years. But what is the point of winning these meaningless bilaterals if you cannot deliver when it matters most in ICC events? Its 3 ICC tournaments now that these guys have not only failed to deliver, but also cracked under the pressure. As a fan who desperately wants to see this team do well its really disappointing because you feel that hope and optimism being knocked out of you with each tournament.

It's also an eye-opening thing to admit that players who are supposed to be our best players, and whom we have invested in for years just simply aren't good enough to go shoulder to shoulder with the best players of the other countries.

Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman and Salman Ali Agha are the only players right now that look like they could walk into the playing elevens of other top teams right now. And I fear the end may be near for Fakhar Zaman too considering his history of injuries in recent times.

Pakistan cricket is in a very dark place yet again. And I don't think there is any way out of it anytime soon. A far more severe beating is in-store for us next year at the T20 World Cup.

Time to beg Mohammad Amir to make another T20 WC, these guys in their prime are so terrible that it could happen, in fact, if he is still fit, he is better then all off them.

And am not up to date with the bench strength since alternatives rarely get a proper look but Ihsanullah & Mo. Wasim Jnr seem to have vanished into obscurity, what is the PCB doing to keep them in the mix….

 

[PakFan2010]

Nothing went wrong.

They lost to teams which have more talent.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The South africa debate settled now

South africa team is washed up they are not good as India and newzealand like you were making it out to be so that win was no big win

What you saw yesterday is the reality of this team.

Just a tip abrar will be useless too on pitches that won't suit bowlers

Again, you are the only one here who thinks South Africa are not a good team. I am not going to have this conversation with you again. If you think that a team that has made the semi-final or final of the last three ICC events is not good enough then I don't know what to say.

Australia and New Zealand got thrashed in T20 bilateral series to Bangladesh before the 2021 T20 WC. A month later both teams were in the final of the tournament.

 

[kingusama92]

I think people are confusing criticism of Pakistan's squad selection as excusing the core group.

They are 100% deserving of criticism too.

But there's no question they messed up the squad making winning an impossible task.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Squad for Australia isn’t perfect either

Do you see them making excuses?

Have you seen their batting poweR??? compare them with yours....

 

[emranabbas]

Again, you are the only one here who thinks South Africa are not a good team. I am not going to have this conversation with you again. If you think that a team that has made the semi-final or final of the last three ICC events is not good enough then I don't know what to say.

Australia and New Zealand got thrashed in T20 bilateral series to Bangladesh before the 2021 T20 WC. A month later both teams were in the final of the tournament.

You just explain to me if South africa is a top team why are they losing to Afghanistan and Ireland? In the last 12 months also lost to Pakistan

 

[Rana]

Have you seen their batting poweR??? compare them with yours....

But it’s you people who kept telling us this is a batting heavy team? It was you people who campaigned hard for Rizwan to take over after Babar was it not?

Pakistan beat this SA and Australian side in their conditions. They didn’t bat Pakistan out of any single match. What happened in your own conditions? These are pure batting conditions, how can you not bat better than these two teams who you beat in theirs?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You just explain to me if South africa is a top team why are they losing to Afghanistan and Ireland? In the last 12 months also lost to Pakistan

India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka
Australia lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Are they not top teams because they lost matches to these teams in past 12 months?

Atleast Afghanistan is in the CT. Sri Lanka is not even in the CT.

 

[Sycamore]

This is a continuation of the Asia cup, 2023 world cup, T20 World cup 2024.
The core players are all the same. How can't they see how the core players freeze like deer in headlights and start playing for their spots with timid cricket.

Selectors over the past 2 yrs have been on some stuff, how / why ---do you bring in random players just in time for international cups, what about the guys performing in bilaterals. Niazi, sufiyan etc

 

[emranabbas]

India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka
Australia lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Are they not top teams because they lost matches to these teams in past 12 months?

Atleast Afghanistan is in the CT. Sri Lanka is not even in the CT.

Do you think South africa are better than India and newzealand?

 

[Rana]

Did anyone see Australia shrug their shoulders, display a negative body language, throw tantrums at each other when they got decked for 350?

Did anyone see England walking off the field giving each other high 5s, giving fancy interviews and smiling gleefully once they hit 350?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Do you think South africa are better than India and newzealand?

No. But they are comfortably a Top 4 team.

The only teams better than them are New Zealand, India and Australia.

 

[emranabbas]

No. But they are comfortably a Top 4 team.

The only teams better than them are New Zealand, India and Australia.

South africa better than England?

 

[shaz619]

India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka
Australia lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Are they not top teams because they lost matches to these teams in past 12 months?

Atleast Afghanistan is in the CT. Sri Lanka is not even in the CT.

Honestly, I feel bad for Lanka, yes Bilateral's don’t entirely correlate to ICC tournament success anymore but Jayasuriya has been doing a tremendous job with the team when you look at what he inherited. And the Lankans have a much better look than our lot and would have fought better in these conditions.

 

[Marooned]

Did anyone see Australia shrug their shoulders, display a negative body language, throw tantrums at each other when they got decked for 350?

Did anyone see England walking off the field giving each other high 5s, giving fancy interviews and smiling gleefully once they hit 350?

While Pakistan just kept their excuses ready when they conceded 320 runs with people like hafeez having audacity to say "it was a 230 pitch". Well then ig our batting produced a world class effort to make 261 on a 230 pitch?
And 241 is a "good score". How can any score be a good score if 1/3rd of the total balls were scored at an sr of 54?

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Some of the things i can quickly think of.

A) Unexpected injuries

Losing saim and fakhar essentially killed the entire batting lineup.

B) Not understanding conditons

Every team understood our home conditons better then we did.

C) Fielding

^^ Its nothing new, Pakistan is filled with butter fingers.

D) Poor squad selection

Even with the absence of fakhar and saim, it made zero sense to pick up faheem, khusdil and many others over sufiyan and many uncapped players who would have been better picks.

E) Poor captaincy and out of form players

Ba/Riz, Nuff said.

Overhyped and arrogance.. downfall once again.

 

[zahid01]

Simple reason pak failed most of the players did not merit a spot in the squad for 50 overs cricket what I would like to know who selected the squad

 

[saimayubera]

nothing went "wrong". it is a systemic issue. Pak have not been a good ODI team since the 90s gen retired in 03.

2017 ct was great but that was a short tournament and pak went on a great run.

other than that and the 2011 wc which pakistan did well in due to gul+spin trio, pak have been very poor in odi tournaments throughout this century (both world cups and champions trophies).

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Time to beg Mohammad Amir to make another T20 WC, these guys in their prime are so terrible that it could happen, in fact, if he is still fit, he is better then all off them.

And am not up to date with the bench strength since alternatives rarely get a proper look but Ihsanullah & Mo. Wasim Jnr seem to have vanished into obscurity, what is the PCB doing to keep them in the mix….

Shaheen's bowling last night reminded me how much better Amir was even after he wasted the prime years of his career and came back with 10-15 kph less pace. It was actually kind of remarkable to see how far Shaheen---a bowler who once had so much potential---has fallen. His bowling was as arrogant as it was brainless. The other day when talking about England's bowling I said that madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I think that's the perfect way to sum up Shaheen's bowling last night too. He showed a complete disregard for the pitch, conditions, quality of opposition and just kept doing the same thing over and over and over again. He bowled one unplayable delivery among a barrage of predictable, boundary balls. Above all, he showed what a low bowling IQ he has.

I think we could have gotten some good performances out of Amir in his second stint with the team but the PCB and the people in-charge notably Mohammad Wasim, Waqar and Misbah managed the situation quite poorly. Even when Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf were coming into their own and performing better, Pakistan never had the bench strength to simply discard someone like Amir. You think back to the 2021 T20 WC, imagine having Amir in that squad instead of Hasan Ali? Or in 2022 where they pushed Shaheen to play eventhough he hadn't fully recovered from injury. Or even in 2023 when the bowling failed to defend 280 against Afghanistan.

Bench strength is paper-thin. There is no fast-bowler that stands-out. Someone like Wasim Jr. probably should have been in the squad but I doubt he can do any better than Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf. Every new fast-bowler coming through is a 130 kph trundler. They took a hatchet and destroyed the so-called 'assembly-line of raw fast-bowling talent', and then lit the factory on fire too.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

South africa better than England?

Yes they are. Have you seen England's performances in ODIs in the last few years? They have been even worse than Pakistan.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Honestly, I feel bad for Lanka, yes Bilateral's don’t entirely correlate to ICC tournament success anymore but Jayasuriya has been doing a tremendous job with the team when you look at what he inherited. And the Lankans have a much better look than our lot and would have fought better in these conditions.

Yes but even they have a dearth of world-class talent that is necessary to win big games in big tournaments.

Their spin-attack is always world-class. And they have alot to be hopeful of with players like Charith Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. But there simply isn't enough quality in the batting. And the pace-attack is inexperienced and one-dimensional. Infact it feels like every other Sri Lankan fast-bowler coming is trying to copy Malinga, without recognizing that Malinga was successful precisely because he was unique, and just because that action worked for him, doesn't mean it will work for you too.

When I see someone like Pathirana with that physically taxing version of the Malinga action I honestly don't see him having a long career.

 

[shaz619]

Freshi mania running wild baybaaay!!!!

 

[shaz619]

Shaheen's bowling last night reminded me how much better Amir was even after he wasted the prime years of his career and came back with 10-15 kph less pace. It was actually kind of remarkable to see how far Shaheen---a bowler who once had so much potential---has fallen. His bowling was as arrogant as it was brainless. The other day when talking about England's bowling I said that madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I think that's the perfect way to sum up Shaheen's bowling last night too. He showed a complete disregard for the pitch, conditions, quality of opposition and just kept doing the same thing over and over and over again. He bowled one unplayable delivery among a barrage of predictable, boundary balls. Above all, he showed what a low bowling IQ he has.

I think we could have gotten some good performances out of Amir in his second stint with the team but the PCB and the people in-charge notably Mohammad Wasim, Waqar and Misbah managed the situation quite poorly. Even when Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf were coming into their own and performing better, Pakistan never had the bench strength to simply discard someone like Amir. You think back to the 2021 T20 WC, imagine having Amir in that squad instead of Hasan Ali? Or in 2022 where they pushed Shaheen to play eventhough he hadn't fully recovered from injury. Or even in 2023 when the bowling failed to defend 280 against Afghanistan.

Bench strength is paper-thin. There is no fast-bowler that stands-out. Someone like Wasim Jr. probably should have been in the squad but I doubt he can do any better than Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf. Every new fast-bowler coming through is a 130 kph trundler. They took a hatchet and destroyed the so-called 'assembly-line of raw fast-bowling talent', and then lit the factory on fire too.

Shaheen was like a predictable bowling machine, there was very little variation in his bowling, makes me wonder what they discuss behind the scenes because there was no plan for any batsman. Do you recall that first over 17 year old Aamir bowled to Dilshan in the 09 final ? I know half of that was Younis Khan as well but Shaheen is experienced enough at this point. Azhar Mahmood is still there just sat on the bench laying eggs, but having watched what a successful domestic career he had even after he left the team, I doubt the team would take on board any advice he did have to offer. These guys have huge ego’s, Ramiz is partly responsible for that but at the end of the day you have a brain of your own. Amir dodged a bullet playing under this regime because they would have made sure that physically, he became a spent force. Take Rauf for example who is down on pace, doesn’t excuse his low bowling IQ but just highlighting his mismanagement and that of others. The thing is I would agree with you, but Wasim Jnr did well in the 2023 WC, these guys don’t get a long rope so us fans may not always have full confidence in them but there’s no denying that we’ve failed to give chances to and develop players beyond the core group of Naseem, Rauf and Shaheen; and during the stint these names have regressed rapidly which has been another problem.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Asking what went wrong for the champions trophy isolates the problem. We have lost to minnows and put up shocking performances across formats for years.

Rizwan
Naseem
Haris
Babar
Shaheen

Have been beaten black and blue in ODIs, T20 and Test ( when they decide to play).

Our system is rotten.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Shaheen was like a predictable bowling machine, there was very little variation in his bowling, makes me wonder what they discuss behind the scenes because there was no plan for any batsman. Do you recall that first over 17 year old Aamir bowled to Dilshan in the 09 final ? I know half of that was Younis Khan as well but Shaheen is experienced enough at this point. Azhar Mahmood is still there just sat on the bench laying eggs, but having watched what a successful domestic career he had even after he left the team, I doubt the team would take on board any advice he did have to offer. These guys have huge ego’s, Ramiz is partly responsible for that but at the end of the day you have a brain of your own. Amir dodged a bullet playing under this regime because they would have made sure that physically, he became a spent force. Take Rauf for example who is down on pace, doesn’t excuse his low bowling IQ but just highlighting his mismanagement and that of others. The thing is I would agree with you, but Wasim Jnr did well in the 2023 WC, these guys don’t get a long rope so us fans may not always have full confidence in them but there’s no denying that we’ve failed to give chances to and develop players beyond the core group of Naseem, Rauf and Shaheen; and during the stint these names have regressed rapidly which has been another problem.

That's always part of the problem. When this squad was announced I questioned what Irfan Khan Niazi and Sufiyan Muqeem did wrong to be left out? And even what Wasim Jr. did to be completely disregarded as a viable alternative over a brainless spraygun like Hasnain who has shown time and time again that he has only pace and no brains. But at the end of the day, you can't excuse the failure of the core group that is supposed to be the glue that holds the team together.

As for Azhar, I know for a fact that Shaheen is someone who has misbehaved with coaches in the past. So why would he heed any advice from Azhar even if he was given it? You can only blame coaches and other factors so much at the end. When you have real match-winners in the side they can help mask a number of deficiencies. Pakistan has always had structural issues. You could argue that the 2011 team was even worse interms of batting ability with someone like Asad Shafiq batting at 3 or 4. But Pakistan's bowling was always expected to bail them out of whatever total the batting managed to crawl to that day. Now even that is no longer the case.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I will keep repeating in every thread.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

There was no campaign to begin with.

Any team that plays with Rizwan, Babar, Shaheen and to an extent Naseem has no business winning matches.

What is hilarious is same team will show up in 2027 World Cup after beating Bangladesh on 27th as Shaheen will pick up a 5 fer and Babar will strike a century and everything will be forgotten for 2 years.

 

[mominsaigol]

I will keep repeating in every thread.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

There was no campaign to begin with.

Any team that plays with Rizwan, Babar, Shaheen and to an extent Naseem has no business winning matches.

What is hilarious is same team will show up in 2027 World Cup after beating Bangladesh on 27th as Shaheen will pick up a 5 fer and Babar will strike a century and everything will be forgotten for 2 years.

Shaheen will pick up a 5 fer and Babar will strike a century and everything will be forgotten for 2 years.

You give these guys too much credit. This is not 2019 Bangladesh anymore. They have a stronger lower order and better bowlers and they humbled Pakistan in their own den 2x.

Them losing to Bangladesh and NZ doesn't mean that they'll lose to Pakistan. Infact they gave nz and India a better challenge then pk did.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Shaheen will pick up a 5 fer and Babar will strike a century and everything will be forgotten for 2 years.

You give these guys too much credit. This is not 2019 Bangladesh anymore. They have a stronger lower order and better bowlers and they humbled Pakistan in their own den 2x.

Them losing to Bangladesh and NZ doesn't mean that they'll lose to Pakistan. Infact they gave nz and India a better challenge then pk did.

Our players perform when there is no pressure.

Once the pressure is off today, watch these kittens turn to beasts to pummel Bangladesh.

They are masters of beating 2nd string, 3rd string sides of top teams and hapless sides like Nepal and Zimbabwe ruthlessly.

 

[mominsaigol]

Our players perform when there is no pressure.

Once the pressure is off today, watch these kittens turn to beasts to pummel Bangladesh.

They are masters of beating 2nd string, 3rd string sides of top teams and hapless sides like Nepal and Zimbabwe ruthlessly.

Naw they'll lose to Bangladesh this time around. Their will be no babar century

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Everything and then everything with whipped cream on top.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

I will keep repeating in every thread.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

There was no campaign to begin with.

Any team that plays with Rizwan, Babar, Shaheen and to an extent Naseem has no business winning matches.

What is hilarious is same team will show up in 2027 World Cup after beating Bangladesh on 27th as Shaheen will pick up a 5 fer and Babar will strike a century and everything will be forgotten for 2 years.

Hafeez keeps saying this but no one listens. These guys have had 5 or 6 tournaments to prove their worth. Now you know they can't win you tournaments move onto a new set of lads. Its really simple.

 

[Local.Dada]

Poor selection. Unfortunately all blame will be given to Captain. You can’t select 1 spinner in tournaments held in Asian conditions unless you have Aussie attack of 90s-2000s or WI attack of 70s and 80s.

There is only so much a captain and team can do.

Also feel extremely sorry and scared for Babar. The trolling is extremely toxic and I feel for his mental health. He doesn’t have the same support system that some of the star Indian players have to insulate them from hate.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Poor selection. Unfortunately all blame will be given to Captain. You can’t select 1 spinner in tournaments held in Asian conditions unless you have Aussie attack of 90s-2000s or WI attack of 70s and 80s.

There is only so much a captain and team can do.

Also feel extremely sorry and scared for Babar. The trolling is extremely toxic and I feel for his mental health. He doesn’t have the same support system that some of the star Indian players have to insulate them from hate.

Agree. Rizwan can be blamed as a batsman, but he can't be blamed as a captain considering the resources given to him. No other captain can do anything with this team.

 

[mominsaigol]

Hafeez keeps saying this but no one listens. These guys have had 5 or 6 tournaments to prove their worth. Now you know they can't win you tournaments move onto a new set of lads. Its really simple.

Hafeez is another hypocrite

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Hafeez is another hypocrite

I disagree he tried to change things plus as a player he delivered in Tests and multiple tournaments.

 

[emranabbas]

Agree. Rizwan can be blamed as a batsman, but he can't be blamed as a captain considering the resources given to him. No other captain can do anything with this team.

But when naqvi asked rizwan to change team before 12 February rizwan said he is satisfied with the team.

Rizwan will not drop babar shaheen rauf naseem from his team

 

[Pakpak]

I disagree he tried to change things plus as a player he delivered in Tests and multiple tournaments.

Yup he was superb in second part of his career. And one of the reasons why we blasted to 338 vs India in the final after his very quick 50.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Poor selection. Unfortunately all blame will be given to Captain. You can’t select 1 spinner in tournaments held in Asian conditions unless you have Aussie attack of 90s-2000s or WI attack of 70s and 80s.

There is only so much a captain and team can do.

Also feel extremely sorry and scared for Babar. The trolling is extremely toxic and I feel for his mental health. He doesn’t have the same support system that some of the star Indian players have to insulate them from hate.

Yes, its unfortunate that our fans sink to such lows in the aftermath of bad performances. Players should be criticized for their performances, but personal attacks are low and showcase what a low-grade human being you yourself are. Sadly there are millions of low-grade individuals in the sub-continent who have a platform to spout rubbish because of social media.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I disagree he tried to change things plus as a player he delivered in Tests and multiple tournaments.

I never thought he was a good batsman but my respect for him increased significantly when he made an effort to add more intent to his game and even changed his position for the benefit of the team.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Mohsin Naqvi occured to them and so disappointed with Rizwan that he didn't show the courage to stand for his own players who won him away series. Irfan Niazi, Sufiyan Muqeem were missed badly and Sajid Khan was betrayed

 

[gazza619]

Squad was pathetic... SIMPLE

I beg to differ. With the exception of Faheem the rest of the squad were picked on merit. Khushdil was a questionable selection but he proved his worth

 

[shaz619]

Fans like this pleb are a problem to, he wrote more eulogies for Babar/Riz then any of his deceased family members:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1893703585608712196

Deserves to be taken to suplex-city this guy

 

[FearlessRoar]

Three men's ICC events in 18 months, three early exits after disastrous campaigns.

Pakistan at ICC tournaments are no longer unpredictable—just underwhelming.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

A bunch of overhyped players ruined this event for Pakistan.

 

[mominsaigol]

I never thought he was a good batsman but my respect for him increased significantly when he made an effort to add more intent to his game and even changed his position for the benefit of the team.

@GLORY OF '92

I'm not referring to him as a player. He's one of the reason why pak won ct and he's been pak's best allrounder in recent times. Since his retirement only agha is his competitor but agha isn't a great bowler like hafeez was and deapite agha having better batting form then hafeez did from 2017-2020 but overall hafeez has had a better peak and career.

I'm referring to him post 2020, his selections and his managerial performance did not match his words. Idk if this is because he's a hypocrite or if PCB forced his hand.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Overhyped players. Your fast bowling isn't special. Yet many hype Shaheen.

Latest is Saim Ayub. He has played a grand total of 9 ODIs. 3 against Zimbabwe. Yet his absence is supposed be make or break for Pakistan.

If PCB starts a 2 year project to select domestic performers. Make good pitches. Promote fast bowlers. Not worry about results for the time being, they can have a good team soon.

And For heaven's sake, stop calling every Random left armer Wasim Akram, every good batsman Kohli or Sachin and every WK as Dhoni or Gilly.

 

[Mesozoic]

Nothing. You guys just lost to two vastly superior Cricket teams.

No need to complicate things.

 

[AMSS]

So, out of

WC 23
T20 WC in USA
Champions Trophy24

Which was the worst campaign of all?

 

[ravisurya]

Nothing. You guys just lost to two vastly superior Cricket teams.

No need to complicate things.

No. Pakistan only lost because of black magic by some pandits. India didn't want to visit Pakistan because it wouldn't have been possible in Pakistan.