Former India opener decodes Pakistan's 'perennial weakness' ahead of Champions Trophy 2025, says 'the truth is that they...'

Mohammad Rizwan-led Pakistan are gearing up for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 which is set to start from February 19. The Champions Trophy 2025, which is being hosted by Pakistan, will be held in three Pakistani cities and Dubai. Pakistan enter the tournament as the defending champions, having clinched the Champions Trophy 2017 title where they bulldozed India in the final.

Meanwhile, former India's opener Aakash Chopra has decoded Pakistan's perennial weakness. Chopra talked about susceptibility to pressure as a key weakness as they head into the 2025 Champions Trophy. He highlighted their early exits in the previous two ICC tournaments as evidence of this tendency.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out Pakistan's recent struggles to perform under pressure in major ICC events.

"Pakistan's weakness is not a weakness of today. It's a perennial weakness. Of course, they are the defending champions in the Champions Trophy, but the truth is that they get stuck under pressure. They lost to the USA in the last ICC event (2024 T20 World Cup) and didn't qualify for the second round," Chopra said.

"They reached the final in the 2022 T20 World Cup for sure but they were totally missing in the 2023 ODI World Cup. So this is a team that just implodes under pressure. They just go completely missing. So you will have to agree that is one of Pakistan's weaknesses," Chopra added.

Pakistan's recent performances in major tournaments illustrate their struggles. They suffered a surprising defeat to the United States of America in the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup, preventing them from advancing to the Super Eights. Similarly, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, they narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot, losing out to New Zealand.

In addition to their vulnerability under pressure, Aakash Chopra also cited Pakistan's inconsistency as another significant weakness as they prepare for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

"Secondly, they are inconsistent. Their graph goes up and down. They rarely have a flat line. They are probably like their country. Their country also goes like that, up and down. The same is reflected in their cricket team," he said (6:10).

"They are volatile. They are an unpredictable side. Pakistan's middle name is unpredictable. So imploding under pressure and an unpredictable side, those are a couple of issues. Can Pakistan overcome that? That is my question mark because they will be under pressure," Chopra observed.

Pakistan's Champions Trophy 2025:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.