Former spinner Danish Kaneria has slammed Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam after another poor display against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match in Dubai on Sunday (February 23).

Babar managed to score only 23 off 26 balls against the arch-rivals. The right-hander was looking in good touch before he edged one to KL Rahul behind the stumps, losing his wicket to Hardik Pandya.

After this poor outing, Babar’s ODI stats against India read – 241 runs from eight innings at an average of 30.12 with just one half-century.

Babar has looked far from his best in the ongoing Champions Trophy as he played a turtle-paced knock of 64 (90 balls) versus New Zealand in a 321-run chase. Hence, he is drawing flak from all quarters and Kaneria didn’t spare him as well.

Speaking to ANI, Kaneria claimed that Babar Azam only scores against weaker opposition like Zimbabwe and plays without intent against big teams.

"Babar has not scored runs for so long. But when he scores, it is against Zimbabwe or against smaller teams. If he scores against big teams. So, there is no intent at all,” Kaneria said.

Furthermore, Kaneria raised questions over Mohammad Rizwan’s form and stated that it was evident the team would be eliminated from the Champions Trophy quickly.

"There is no depth in the batting. Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah make some contributions sometimes. Saud Shakeel is a technically correct batter. But Rizwan's bat seems to have stopped working. When the Champions Trophy squad was announced, one could see it getting eliminated pretty soon out of the tournament," he added.

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 title defence was jeopardized after the team suffered back-to-back defeats in their Group A fixtures against New Zealand and arch-rivals India.

On Monday (February 24), the Men in Green were officially knocked out of the semi-final race following New Zealand’s five-wicket win over Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.

This outcome has left the Pakistan cricket fraternity dejected, with many experts and former cricketers calling for a complete overhaul of the team's approach and mindset.

Pakistan will face Bangladesh in their final group match on Thursday (February 27) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.