The defending champions Pakistan had an unforgettable outing in the ongoing edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Despite being the hosts, Pakistan became the first side along with Bangladesh to get knocked out of the semi-finals after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by five wickets in Rawalpindi on February 24. With this, New Zealand and India have confirmed their place in the knockout stage of the tournament while Pakistan and Bangladesh have been eliminated.
Getting a chance to host an ICC event after 29 years, Pakistan were being looked at as favourites to defend the title in front of their home crowd. However, the things went completely different for Mohammad Rizwan and his side as they went on to lose their first two matches against New Zealand and India respectively. However, before New Zealand’s clash against Bangladesh, Pakistan were still having a chance to make it to the top four but Kiwis’ win over Bangladesh have diminished all their hopes for the semi-finals. In the following listicle, we will have look at the top three reason why Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals of Champions Trophy 2025.
Why Pakistan got knocked out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025?
1. Out of form opening pair
The main concern for Pakistan in the ongoing Champions Trophy has been their opening pair. Notably, Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the tournament after getting injured on the very first match against New Zealand, which made Pakistan management call Imam-ul-Haq as a replacement. However, both Imam and Babar Azam haven’t been able to make an impact so far as Pakistan failed to get big starts in Champions Trophy 2025.
2. Underwhelming performance from fast bowlers
Fast bowlers have been a strength of Pakistan cricket team over the years and were also among the reasons for them to lift the Champions Trophy title in 2017. However, as Pakistan were looking to defend the title in front of their home crowd, the fast bowlers turned out to be ineffective and failed to give breakthroughs at crucial moments. Star pacers like Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah failed to step on a big ICC event for Pakistan.
3. Lack of quality spinners
Pakistan lack quality spinners in their Champions Trophy 2025 squad along with Abrar Ahmed which could be one of the main reasons for their early exit from the tournament. Pitches in Pakistan and Dubai provide great support for the spinners and the things would have been different for Pakistan if they had picked more spin bowlers.
