Pakistan Cricket Team Faces Criticism After Disappointing Champions Trophy 2025 Campaign

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Pakistan's disappointing exit from the Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked emotional reactions from their fans and former cricketers. The team's poor performance, which included a one-sided defeat to arch-rivals India, has led to calls for a complete overhaul of the side. Wasim Akram, the legendary former captain and bowling great, launched a furious rant aimed at Mohammad Rizwan's men, suggesting that 6-7 players need to be dropped from the side. However, this rant didn't sit well with another former skipper, Shahid Afridi, who questioned whether there are enough talented players on the bench to replace the underperforming stars.

Afridi acknowledged that it's normal to "get carried away" after defeats such as the one against India, but he criticised Akram's remark about dropping some of Pakistan's stars altogether. "Do you have 6-7 players on the bench who can replace them? Do you have the players of those standards in domestic cricket? Have we groomed them in the academies?," Afridi asked. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should consider appointing a foreign chairman to help improve the team's performance. Hafeez's comment came after Pakistan's winless campaign in the Champions Trophy, which included a washed-out match against Bangladesh.

The team's poor showing in the tournament has led to criticism from various quarters, with some former players calling for a change in the team's management and captaincy. Shoaib Akhtar, a former pacer, slammed the team's management and captaincy, labeling them as "clueless" and "brainless". Akhtar also expressed his discontent with the team's skills, saying that they lack the required skills to compete on the biggest occasion. The PCB has faced criticism for its handling of the team, with some calling for a more proactive approach to addressing the team's problems. The team's performance has also raised questions about the future of Pakistan cricket, with some calling for a complete overhaul of the system.

Pakistan's next assignment is an away T20I series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start on March 16. The team will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing performance in the Champions Trophy and prove their critics wrong. The series will be an important test for the team, and a good performance will be crucial in restoring the faith of their fans. Here are the match scores from Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign:

• Pakistan vs New Zealand: New Zealand won by 60 runs
• Pakistan vs India: India won by 6 wickets
• Pakistan vs Bangladesh: Match abandoned due to rain

The team's statistics from the tournament are:

• Mohammad Rizwan: 100 runs from 3 matches
• Babar Azam: 80 runs from 3 matches
• Shaheen Afridi: 4 wickets from 3 matches

The Pakistan cricket team's schedule for the next few months is:

1. March 16: T20I series against New Zealand
2. April 2025: ODI series against Australia
3. June 2025: Test series against England

The team's rankings in the various formats are:

1. ODI rankings: 7th
2. T20I rankings: 5th
3. Test rankings: 6th

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