Pakistan or England—who takes the title of ‘Worst Team of ICC Champions Trophy 2025’?

The ongoing ICC Champions Trophy campaign is over for Pakistan. After all the preparation that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put up to host an ICC event after 29 years, their cricket team underperformed massively. However, Pakistan isn’t the only team that had a horrible campaign. England, who have been on the Asian continent for over a month, received a knocking punch courtesy of a spirited Afghanistan performance in Lahore. The fans and pundits from both nations have been hard on the players but if we dissect their campaigns, which team was worse—Pakistan or England? While England still has a game left in their campaign, their route to the semi-final has been cut short. With Pakistan’s last league game abandoned against Bangladesh, this could surely be a time where we could discuss more about Pakistan and England and draw a conclusion as to which is the worst amongst the two.

Factors to consider between Pakistan and England

• Players missed due to injuries & squad selection
• Batting
• Bowling

1: ENG or PAK – better squad selection?

Both England and Pakistan lost some players due to injuries even before the Champions Trophy begin. Jacob Bethell got an injury during the IND vs ENG series, while Brydon Carse has also left the tournament after playing the opening game. As for Pakistan, they had their biggest youngster get out of action for months—Saim Ayub, who injured himself earlier this year in South Africa.

Also, Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign started in the worst possible fashion, with Ayub’s replacement, Fakhar Zaman, injuring himself while fielding on the very second ball of the tournament. However, Pakistan just didn’t have a Plan B. Their squad selection was absolutely poor. On sluggish tracks in Pakistan and Dubai, they should’ve carried another spin option apart from Abrar Ahmed. Pakistan was forced to hand the ball to part-time options Khushdil Shah and Agha Salman. Also, the inclusion of Tayyab Tahir and Faheem Ashraf seemed pointless, with players like Sufiyan Muqeem not even considered.

As for England, they could’ve added Will Jacks, who would’ve been a smart option on Pakistani pitches. But the major part of their problem wasn’t squad selection but what they did on the field.

Winner: England

2: ENG or PAK – Better batting unit?

Let’s first talk about Pakistan. They bowled first in the New Zealand game before batting first against India. On both occasions, they left runs out there. In the opening game, Pakistan was asked to chase down 321—a score that proved to be a herculean task for the hosts. The entire top and middle order failed, with just Babar Azam scoring a painstaking 64. His pace of the innings was so placid that it put immense pressure on the other batters. Khushdil Shah’s blazing 49-ball 69 was the only shining light.

Similarly against India, the run rate was the issue for them. This time, it was a partnership between Rizwan and Saud Shakeel, where the two added 104 off 144 balls. Apart from Khushdil (again), no other batter scored more than 25 runs at a SR of above 80 in that innings! On the flip side, the Indian team chased down the total with 45 balls in hand!

As for England, their batting was on point against Australia when they hammered 351 runs. Ben Duckett was the star as he clubbed 165 runs, the then-highest score in Champions Trophy history (before Ibrahim Zadran broke the record). Having said that, the pitch was so dull and had nothing for the bowlers that England could’ve added 15-20 runs more. In the second match, England couldn’t chase down 326 on the very same ground. England’s strong point is their batting and yet they couldn’t neutralise the Afghan attack. The pitch wasn’t a rank-turner either. Joe Root was absolutely brilliant (120 off 111) but failed to have enough support around him.

Winner: England

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3: ENG or PAK – Better bowling unit?

Pakistan is known for having a much better bowling unit but was it really the case at the Champions Trophy? The so-called generational pace bowling trio of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah have horribly played horrible cricket in recent times. In ODIs this year, none of the pace bowlers have averaged less than 42, and even their sole specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed, has an average of 49.20. England bowlers, meanwhile, lacked variation. All the pacers, including Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, and Mark Wood, are hit-the-deck bowlers. On paper, Pakistan’s bowling unit might look lethal but hasn’t performed like that.

Against New Zealand, Pakistan leaked 320 runs from a position of reducing them to 73/3. Then against India, Pakistan took four wickets in total, two of which were outlandish deliveries; one was due to a terrific catch while the other one was due to a short-pitch delivery. For England, it was horrible for them to squander a 351-run total against a depleted Australian attack. The Lahore pitch wasn’t conducive for bowlers but the English bowling lacked a certain plan. This could be a bit surprising for some but England had a better bowling unit as well. They bowled brilliantly in some moments. But for Pakistan, they got nothing right on their side.

Winner: England

All in all, we can conclude saying that England were a better team than Pakistan in the tournament. Lest we forget, England have to get their thinking right. Also, the change in coaching staff has muddled the team so much that they are currently on a six-match losing streak. At the same time, Pakistan had a horrible show. After so much expectations being the hosts, Pakistan were the first one to leave their own party early!