Can Pakistan Return to Prominence in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy?
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Pakistan Downward Spiral and Controversy Leading Up to Title Defence
For decades, Pakistan’s national cricket team were one of the most dominant forces in the game, but in recent years, they have found themselves on a sticky wicket. From losing for the first time ever to Bangladesh in a Test match last September to their premature elimination from the T20 World Cup, the Shaheens and their adoring fans have endured a downward spiral of note - one that they will hope to turn around when they host the prestigious 2025 ICC Champions Trophy later this month.
The Men in Green enter this competition as the title holders, after rising to glory in the 2017 edition where they beat arch-rivals India in the final at the Oval in London. Since then, though, the Green Shirts have had very little to cheer about and have slipped to seventh in the world in the longest and shortest formats of the game according to the ICC’s Team Rankings, while also making an unwanted piece of history by losing in the T20 World Cup to the USA, whose players have regular day jobs outside of playing cricket.
The weeks leading up to their Champions Trophy title defence have been fraught with controversy too, owing to questionable player selections, particularly around the inclusion of Khushdil Shah and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. The Pakistan Cricket Board came under fire from several former players and coaches due to their decision to include the duo in the 15-man squad despite the fact that they both have not played a great deal of cricket in recent times. Additionally, Shah has not scored a single half-century in his 10 appearances in the national side, while Ashraf has a batting average of 10 and a bowling average of 47 in 34 ODIs.
The concerns regarding the team selection are so far-reaching that Mohsin Naqvi has had to step in, and on February 8 the PCB chairman revealed that his selection committee “will review” the national squad picked for the Champions Trophy before the February 12 deadline. For now, it is an anxious wait for fans as the PCB conducts its review, but one thing is for sure, the enthusiasm that once filled the nearly 240 million die-hard supporters is beginning to wilt. Indeed, all that can change if the Shaheens beat their nemesis India in their second match of the Champions Trophy, though it could also go the other way very quickly if they lose.
The Men in Green get their Champions Trophy title defence underway against New Zealand in Karachi on the opening day, and take on the Men in Blue on February 23 in Dubai, before ending their group stage in Rawalpindi against Bangladesh.
