Pakistan team was the first to be eliminated from Champions Trophy even as hosts.
Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel discussed Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Pakistan was knocked out of the competition, the first ICC event they are hosting after 29 years after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh on Monday.
Pakistan began with a loss to New Zealand in the CT 2025 opening match in Karachi and then lost to India in Dubai on Sunday. New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh resulted in both Pakistan and Bangladesh being eliminated in the group stage itself. India and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy.
Parthiv Patel, a former cricket player for India, offered his thoughts on the matter and expressed his surprise at Pakistan's elimination in the group round. He emphasized that the team's results on the international scene have been severely handicapped by their current lack of a systematic strategy for winning important events.
Pakistan qualified for the tournament only because they were the host country, not because of their results in the ICC rankings, Parthiv Patel noted. He claimed that despite Pakistan cricket's long history and previous achievements, this alone illustrates the sport's deteriorating quality.
Patel emphasized that the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) institutional instability and the absence of a robust local structure have both contributed to the national team's poor recent results.
"Pakistan are out. I think that's something which we did not expect so early in this tournament. But obviously their cricket is not in good health. We all know that they don't have a team which can win tournaments right now.
When the ranking came in for the Champions trophy, Pakistan were not in the top eight. Pakistan is playing in this Champions Trophy because they are hosting this tournament. So it wasn't an automatic qualification for them. They are qualified only because they are hosting this tournament. So that means you know where Pakistan cricket is right now," Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz.
Dinesh Karthik, a former cricket player for India, brought attention to the rising internal troubles in the Pakistani team and implied that these concerns had begun to show in their on-field performance.
Pakistan has had yet another dismal campaign as a result of their incapacity to execute under duress, as well as their uneven team selections, tactical flaws, and several coaching changes.
"They got to see the changes that needs to be made, even if that means letting go of a few senior players. But what we don't know is the kind of talent that exists in Pakistan...But the Pakistan cricket board is in so much turmoil generally, the coaches are changing, sometimes selectors change. So it's very hard for any player to settle down,” Dinesh Karthik said.
It is a huge disgrace for Pakistan to have missed out on the knockout stage of their first domestic ICC competition in 29 years. As a result of the fiasco, there were even rumors that head coach Aaqib Javed would be fired after just three months in office.
Furthermore, as the reigning champions, Pakistan has now joined an undesirable list of teams that have eliminated themselves from the Champions Trophy group stage.