Pakistan’s cricket team is facing big changes after losing to India in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which looks like it will end their chance of advancing. Legendary Indian player Sunil Gavaskar expressed his surprise at how little backup players Pakistan has, despite the country’s ability to produce great talent.
So far in the tournament they are hosting, Pakistan has lost two matches: one to New Zealand by 60 runs, and another to India by six wickets. Gavaskar mentioned that Pakistan’s current team might struggle against even a second-string Indian team. “A B team would be really tough to beat Pakistan in their current form,” he said.
In the game against India, Pakistan batted first but could only score 241 runs and got all out in 49.4 overs. India chased down the score in just 42.3 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli’s remarkable unbeaten 100 runs. After New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh, it became clear that Pakistan would be eliminated in the first round of the Champions Trophy.
Gavaskar pointed out that Pakistan’s batters lacked aggression. For example, Mohammad Rizwan hit a boundary on his first ball, but the team didn’t change their slow approach. He found it surprising that nothing seemed to go right for them.
Their performance was further impacted by the absence of Fakhar Zaman, a key opener, who was replaced by Imam-ul-Haq, who managed to score only 10 runs. Gavaskar noted that it’s unusual for a country known for its cricket talent to lack good replacements. He mentioned how Pakistan used to have players with great instinct, even if they didn’t always follow traditional techniques.
Gavaskar questioned why Pakistan is struggling to find talented players and said Pakistan cricket should learn from India’s success. India has produced many young stars thanks to the IPL, which helps players gain experience and eventually join the national team. Pakistan needs to think about how to rebuild its cricket talent.
Leave a Reply