Hosts Not Hosting the Final – What Went Wrong for Pakistan Cricket in the Champions Trophy 2025?

Pakistan cricket has almost touched the lowest end, facing upsets wherever and whatever tournament they play. The host nation faced the exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 just after the loss against India in Dubai. This has drawn lots of criticism from fans and experts worldwide, especially from their nation. The backlash is apt for the performances and the selection of the certain players in the last few ICC tournaments.

Let’s reflect on the reason behind their poor performances:

Favouritism in the Squad and Team Combination

Favoritism due to politics inside the Pakistan selection committee to the leadership setup could be one of the major reasons. As per squad analysis, it was revealed that Pakistan dropped many format-specific in-form players who did well in the ODI series before the tournament and added some players having good relations with the management setup. Not providing opportunities to the right talent at the right place will lead to setbacks and probably discourage the next generation of Pakistan from taking up the sport.

Mediocre Bowling Performances

Once known as the talent hub of fast bowling, where they have produced legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus, and many more, now it looks like they are getting a shortage of it. The concept of fast bowling is not only to deliver high-speed deliveries but also to maintain a perfect line and length, which makes the bowler even more dangerous, especially with the new ball.

In the last few years, the main problem with Pakistan is that despite poor performances, there hasn’t been any change or improvement. In the last few ODI games, the main pace attack of Pakistan, consisting of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, and Hari Rauf, averaged nearly above 50 in ODI format. Rather than criticizing a player, more questions need to be asked to the coaching department, whether they are putting efforts to improve the bowling quality or not.

Absence of Specialized All-rounders in the Squad

Gone are the days when Pakistan used to have all-rounders like Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak, Mohammed Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik. Currently, every team has genuine all-rounders who can provide support in both batting and bowling. Pakistan lacked genuine all-rounders in their current setup of Champions Trophy 2025, and some certain selections will lead to the point of favouritism in the selection process over the genuine in-form players. Players who looked good in the domestic circuit were completely ignored, also, their in-form leg-spin all-rounder Shadab Khan and fast bowling all-rounder Aamer Jamal were completely kept out from limited overs of cricket.

No Horses for the Courses

Pakistan’s team selection has been scrutinized again after its failure at the Champions Trophy. On a track that offered spin and was predominantly slower, the selectors chose only a single main spinner, Abrar Ahmed. As a host nation, not understanding the pitch conditions of their pitches and making errors in squad selection, which is already a known fact that sub-continent pitches support the spinners very well. The management and the captain should be held accountable for the poor selection of the squad.

Many cricketing greats of Pakistan, such as Sana Mir, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, constantly criticized and raised queries about the selection and the team’s approach. They have shown their frustration and disappointment over Pakistan’s mediocre performances and ridiculous squad selection in the last few years. The Pakistan team and fans will be hopeful of a positive turnaround in the future. All they need is to be patient and take some tough calls.