Related Articles
Pakistan’s head coach Aaqib Javed has attributed the team’s early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to a lack of experience, stating that the Green Shirts were outplayed by teams with far more seasoned players.
Pakistan’s back-to-back losses to New Zealand and India in Group A led to their elimination from the tournament, with only a dead rubber against Bangladesh remaining.
Table of content
Pakistan’s Experience Gap Compared to India
Speaking about the team’s struggles, Aaqib highlighted the stark contrast in experience levels between Pakistan and arch-rivals India, who dominated their clash in Dubai.
“When Pakistan and India are playing, it’s not only cricket – it’s more than that. You need a lot of experience. This Indian team was the most experienced – they had almost 1,500 games together. And Pakistan is at the bottom, with less than 400 games together.”
Apart from Babar Azam (100+ ODIs), Mohammad Rizwan (88 ODIs), and Shaheen Afridi (64 ODIs), most Pakistani players were inexperienced, with some having fewer than 30 matches under their belt.
“Tayyab Tahir has played like eight games. Imam-ul-Haq (73 ODIs) was making a comeback. The main thing is, when nothing works and when it’s more than just a game, experience counts. There is no doubt.”
Fakhar Zaman’s Injury and Missing Key Players
The injury to Fakhar Zaman after the first match further dented Pakistan’s chances, as he had been a key player at the top of the order. The absence of Saim Ayub, who had an impressive series in South Africa, also played a role in the team’s struggle.
“We had to bring in Khushdil Shah because Saim was unfit. In one-day cricket, you cannot go with just five bowlers; you need a balanced combination of seven batsmen and four bowlers.”
Big Players Failed to Step Up
Aaqib Javed also pointed out that Pakistan’s key players—Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Afridi—failed to deliver match-winning performances.
“When the team loses, people want to point fingers. But look at our core players: Shaheen, Naseem, Haris – they are still one of the best fast-bowling options in the world.”
While Babar Azam has faced heavy criticism, Aaqib questioned whether there were any viable alternatives to replace him as Pakistan’s batting mainstay.
“And if you look at Babar – apart from him, what other options do you have? We always say that if the team loses, change the team. But this is already the most inexperienced team.”
Pakistan to Face Bangladesh in Final Group Match
With their semi-final hopes already crushed, Pakistan will play their final group-stage match against Bangladesh on February 27 in Rawalpindi. However, the game is threatened by rain, adding to an already disappointing campaign for the hosts.
