Pakistan‘s journey in the Champions Trophy 2025 ended on February 24 after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by five wickets in Rawalpindi. With this win, New Zealand and India secured semi-final spots, while Pakistan’s campaign ended prematurely. Mohammad Rizwan and his team struggled throughout the tournament, failing to make an impact in their two matches.
Injury woes and bowling struggles
Pakistan suffered a major setback before the tournament when opener Saim Ayub was ruled out due to injury. His replacement, Fakhar Zaman, also sustained an injury during the match against New Zealand, forcing him out of the competition. Pakistan’s bowling attack lacked penetration, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah proving ineffective and leaking runs. The absence of a reliable spinner to support Abrar Ahmed further weakened their bowling unit.
Pakistan struggled in both of their group-stage matches. New Zealand posted 320 runs against them in the opening match, with Will Young and Tom Latham scoring centuries. In their second match against India, Pakistan got off to a strong start but failed to capitalize, posting 241 runs. Virat Kohli’s brilliance guided India to chase the target comfortably in 43.2 overs.
With their early exit, Pakistan set two unwanted records:
- First host nation since 2009 to fail to progress past the group stage – The last instance was South Africa’s early exit.
- Fourth defending champion to be eliminated in the group stage, joining India and Sri Lanka (2004) and Australia (2013).
Pakistan is set to play Bangladesh on February 27, but rain threatens the fixture. If washed out, Pakistan could end the tournament without a single win, marking a forgettable campaign.