Pakistan cricket team had a forgettable ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The hosts failed to qualify for the knock-out matches after losing comprehensively against New Zealand & India and the wash out game gave them a point. Head coach Aaqib Javed who is also a part of selection panel had a nightmare start to his first marquee tournament as a coach.
The Men in Green lacked the intent to perform across all the 3 departments of the game. There were high expectations from Pakistan to defend the title in their home soil. The side under Mohammad Rizwan had won ODI series against Australia, South Africa & Zimbabwe and was looking a force to reckon with but failed to deliver when it mattered the most.
Indian team was the most experienced who have almost 1500 games together- Aaqib Javed
Pakistan’s head coach Aaqib Javed was having an interaction with the media. Aaqib Javed stated that Pakistan lost the game due to their inexperienced team as compared with India. Aaqib Javed said that Khushdil Shah was included in the squad in place of Saim Ayub who was unfit and also because he can roll his arm.
“When Pakistan and India are playing, it’s not only cricket – it’s more than that. You need a lot of experience,. Â “This Indian team was the most experienced – they have almost 1500 games together. And Pakistan is on the bottom, with less than 400 games together. If you look at players like Babar Azam, [he] is the only one who has played more than 100 games. Then there’s Mohammad Rizwan [88 ODIs] and then Shaheen Afridi [64 ODIs],”
“The rest of them have less than 30 matches. Tayyab Tahir has played like eight games. Imam-ul-Haq [73 ODIs] was coming back in the team. The main thing is, when nothing works, and when you are talking about more than a game, then the experience counts. There is no doubt,”
“Similarly, we had to bring in Khushdil Shah because Saim was unfit. The reason is that in one-day cricket, you cannot go with five bowlers. You have to make a combination of seven batsmen and four bowlers. When Saim was there, he used to bat at the top and he used to bowl five to seven overs,”
“When he was not there – we saw that if you do a little research – even with the terrific performances that Khushdil Shah has given in one-and-a-half years of cricket, his wickets… there’s no comparison. It was not even a close case or anything. But our job in the selection committee was to give the best replacement option,”
There is no doubt that Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah & Haris Rauf are excellent bowlers- Aaqib Javed
Aaqib Javed blasted the critics by saying that they wanted to make the best squad. Aaqib Javed said that apart from Babar Azam there is no experienced player in the team and stated that the side is already inexperienced.
“A common person who doesn’t play and is not part of the team management wants reasons and the names of people because of whom this team is losing. As far as Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, Naseem and Haris are concerned, our plan was to make the best possible XI or XV. There is no doubt that Shaheen, Naseem and Haris are excellent bowlers,”
If you compare them with the bowling attack of any team, they are one of the best fast-bowling options. And if you look at Babar – apart from him, what other options do you have? We always say that if the team loses, change the team. This is the most inexperienced team already,”