Rawalpindi, Feb 27
After Pakistan’s last game in the 2025 Champions Trophy ended in a washout against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Ground, skipper Mohammad Rizwan admitted that his side didn’t perform well in the competition, leaving them disappointed. Pakistan, the 2025 Champions Trophy hosts and defending champions, made an horrid start to the tournament by losing to New Zealand by 60 runs and then suffered a six-wicket defeat to India in Dubai, which knocked them out of the race for the semifinals.
"We wanted to do well and perform well in front of our nation. The expectations are very high. We didn't perform well, and it was disappointing for us. You can learn from your mistakes. We have made mistakes in the last few games. Hopefully, we can learn from these.”
“We are next going to New Zealand, and hopefully we can perform there and the mistakes that we made against New Zealand here in Pakistan, we can learn from that. And we will do better in New Zealand.”
“We are all very disappointed. We are all here for the nation. Pakistan is our priority, and the expectation from us is very high. We are upset, and we are accepting that we didn't do well. Hopefully, we will do more hard work and come back," said Rizwan to broadcasters after Pakistan and Bangladesh split a point each.
He also refused to single out injuries to Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman as the reason behind Pakistan’s team combination looking disturbed. “The guy who has been performing from the last few months in Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe… the team was combined, and then suddenly when someone is injured, the team will be disturbed.”
“As a captain, you can look forward to that as well. On one side, you can say that the team is disturbed, but this is no excuse. Yes, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were injured, but we will learn from this.”
In Group A, Pakistan ended at the bottom of the table due to Bangladesh having a superior net run rate. Quizzed about the quality of bench strength in the country, Rizwan stated the country’s cricketing ecosystem needs more professionalism. “This a very tough question. The bench strength in Pakistan… let me see the five teams in the Pakistan Cup.”
“We want improvements in different things. If we want to improve and for Pakistan to have a high standard, we need awareness and professionalism. We see that in the Champions Cup, but we need more improvement,” he concluded.