The Pakistan cricket team is set to host the Champions Trophy in 2025, at least for now, as there is speculation that they might not ultimately host the full tournament due to resistance from India. India have suggested a hybrid model instead.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have unexpectedly proposed a schedule, revealing that India and Pakistan are grouped together in Group A. It has been decided that India will play all their group matches in Lahore. In addition to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi’s National Stadium and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host all the matches for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Although the tournament is still far away and there is plenty of time to discuss the chances. But we can certainly assess Pakistan’s chances of winning the upcoming Champions Trophy.
As the host team, Pakistan have a clear advantage, being well-acquainted with the home pitches. From a distance, it appears they have a fair chance of winning. However, there are a few important points that could become significant reasons for the Men in Green’s failure at the Champions Trophy.
What are Pakistan’s chances of winning Champions Trophy 2025?
Before the Champions Trophy, Pakistan will face Australia in a three-match away series and Zimbabwe in as many fixtures. They will also take on South Africa in three ODIs and participate in a Tri-series which incldues New Zealand. With eleven games of preparation, they will look to protect the trophy they won in 2017. However, the question remains: will they be able to retain their status as Champions Trophy winners or not?
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Poor home record
It is quite evident that Pakistan have had a poor record in recent times, especially when focusing on recent international games played on their home ground. England and New Zealand, in particular, have toured Pakistan frequently. Popularly, New Zealand sent a B team but still managed to draw the T20I series 2-2 in April 2024. In 2023, New Zealand played impressively against Pakistan, and in 2022, England beat the host team with a 4-3 series win. Also, in the 2022/23 ODIs, New Zealand toured and defeated Pakistan 2-1. It might be unfair to label Pakistan’s record as poor, it is certainly inconsistent. Such inconsistency can be dangerous in tournaments where a single bad game could disrupt their run.
Pakistan cricket selection turmoil
There is no doubt that the Pakistan cricket team have faced scrutiny multiple times due to poor selections. In recent months, especially after the Asia Cup 2023 held in Sri Lanka and a few matches on their home soil, it was evident that they were clear contenders. However, following their poor performance, where they failed to reach the final despite being strong contenders.
And the disappointing World Cup 2023 outing, Babar Azam was removed as captain in the white-ball formats, with Shaheen Shah Afridi taking over. Babar was later reinstated as captain after the team’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024. Amidst all this upheaval, the previous coaching staff was replaced, with Mohammad Hafeez taking on the role of Director of Cricket and Wahab Riaz heading the selection committee.
Soon after, Hafeez was also dismissed following the team’s poor performance in Australia and their early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 group stage, which only added fuel to the fire. Several key players, including captain Babar Azam, have been criticized for their performances. There have also been allegations of corruption and mismanagement within the Pakistan Cricket Board, as well as disputes between Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, including allegations of Afridi’s misconduct.
Although it is early to predict the tournament results, the team who is hosting the tournament is surely under the pump . If they address these issues before the tournament, there is a high possibility of dominating the competition next year.
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