Islamabad [Pakistan], February 26: Pakistan’s early exit from the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 has led to widespread criticism of the national cricket team’s performance, and the pressure is mounting on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. The hosts, who had the rare opportunity to host an ICC tournament after 29 years, were eliminated within just five days, leaving fans and supporters bitterly disappointed.
National Assembly Opposition Leader and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politician Omar Ayub expressed his dissatisfaction with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s leadership. In a media statement on Tuesday, Ayub placed the blame for the team’s underwhelming performance on Naqvi, calling for his removal from his position due to “repeated failures,” as reported by Geo News.
Pakistan’s struggle continued in the tournament as they lost two consecutive matches in the group stage against New Zealand and India. The team was in a precarious situation, hoping for a win over New Zealand with Bangladesh’s help. However, the Kiwis triumphed with a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, securing their place in the semi-finals alongside India.
Pakistan’s final group-stage match in the Champions Trophy 2025, set against Bangladesh at the National Stadium in Rawalpindi, is now a formality as both teams have already been knocked out of the competition.
This is not the first instance of the Pakistan Cricket Team’s disappointing performance in ICC events. The team failed to advance in last year’s T20 World Cup, suffering back-to-back group-stage losses to the United States and India. Similarly, during the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India, Pakistan won only four out of nine matches and finished in fifth place with just eight points, again failing to reach the knockout stages.
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