Updated 28 February 2025 at 08:13 IST
'Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub Were Injured...' - Pakistan Captain Mohammad Rizwan's LAME Reason For Champions Trophy 2025 Horror
Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan cricket team, led by Mohammad Rizwan, had a tournament to forget and now heads are set to roll.
Champions Trophy 2025: Hosts Pakistan came into the tournament as the defending champions and were expected to do well in their own country, where an ICC event was returning after roughly three decades, but the cricket team did not live upto the expectations. The Mohammed Rizwan-led Pakistan side lost their opening game against New Zealand by 60 runs and then went on to get humiliated by India by six wickets in Dubai to get knocked out of the marquee ICC event.
Finally, they were expected to leave the tournament with a consolation win over Bangladesh, but unfortunately, that did not happen as well as the game in Rawalpindi got abandoned due to rain. The Pakistan side is already facing much criticism over their shambolic performance.
Days after their exit, Rizwan has broken silence on the performance of the side and has come up with a lame excuse. As per Rizwan, what led to the downfall of the side were injuries to key players like Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub.
‘Expectations were very high’
"We wanted to do well and perform in front of our nation. The expectations were very high, but we didn't perform well, and it is disappointing for us," Rizwan admitted.
The he spoke about Saim Ayub.
"The guy who has been performing for the last few months in Australia, South Africa, Zimbabwe… the team was settled, and then suddenly when someone is injured, the team gets disturbed."
Rizwan refused to use the setbacks as an excuse. "Yes, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were injured, but we will learn from this," he concluded.
Rizwan also claimed that there is a lack of professionalism and that needs to change if the standards have to be raised.
Who Are The S/Fs?
India and New Zealand have already qualified from Group A, while no single team has clearly made it through from Group B.
Published By : Ankit Banerjee
Published On: 28 February 2025 at 08:13 IST