Pakistan endured another disappointing performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, losing by six wickets to India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, February 23. Having chosen to bat first, the hosts managed only 241 runs before being bowled out. India chased the target comfortably, losing only four wickets in the process.
In the aftermath of the defeat, former Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar was not reluctant to condemn the team’s management and tactics. Going live on his official X handle, Akhtar lamented, mentioning that he had already expected a defeat because of the team’s failure to plan and execute.
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“People assume that I should be disappointed. I am not, because I predicted this. How do you want to compete when you are not even choosing five proper bowlers? India played with six. Instead, you depend on all-rounders without a proper game plan. It is just clueless, brainless management,” Shoaib Akhtar said.
Give him Pakistan and he will come back in form with a match winning 100. #Kohli pic.twitter.com/6eGq048PmF
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) February 23, 2025
The “Rawalpindi Express” also condemned the players for the lack of purpose and direction. “Even the players don’t know what their roles are. They lack the skill set at this level. They attempt playing big shots like Rohit, Virat, and Shubman without matching capability. It’s frustrating—neither the team nor the management has an idea of what they are doing,” he stated.
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Having lost two consecutive games, Pakistan are in a dire position now. To stand any hope of qualifying to the knockout stage, they have to beat Bangladesh convincingly and pray that other results come their way.
Brief scores:
India – 244 for 4 (Virat Kohli: 100*, Shreyas Iyer: 56, Shaheen Afridi 2-74) beat Pakistan – 241 allout (Saud Shakeel: 62, Muhammad Rizwan: 46, Kuldeep 3-40, Hardik 2-31) by six wickets
