Pakistan's flop show continued in the Champions Trophy 2025 as their batters surrendered to India's disciplined bowling during their high-octane encounter at the Dubai International stadium.
Harbhajan Singh sees lack of unity in Pakistan team
Pakistan team has been on decline which has seen a massive shake up in their leadership role back and forth. Meanwhile, India's spin legend Harbhajan Singh has revealed the reason behind Pakistan's shoddy show which has been a repetitive story of late. Harbhajan voiced his doubts about Pakistan's ability to overcome India in Dubai.
The former Indian spinner expressed his concerns regarding the current Pakistani team's lack of cohesion and game-changing individuals. He contrasted this with the past, recalling a time when Pakistan's squads were replete with players who could single-handedly alter the course of a match.
Harbhajan cited the lack of unity behind Pakistan's decline in international cricket. The spin legend also highlighted the absence of potent bowling attack that historically characterised Pakistan's dominance. While acknowledging the presence of talented individuals capable of match-winning performances, he emphasized the crucial lack of team unity necessary to succeed in major global tournaments.
"Haven't seen such a Pakistan team in years. When we used to play Pakistan, there was always a feeling that the opposition could beat you because they had star players, power-packed performers, bowling was very good and the unity showed. This (current) team may have players who can win a game on their own, but that unity isn't evident. They have individuals who can win a game on their day. But a team should have 7-8 such players who can win you the championship. I don't see that in this team,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Times of India.
“No doubt you won in 2017 when Fakhar Zaman played that big innings. But somewhere, I think, there is a lot of difference now from the days when India and Pakistan used to be nicely balanced teams. Now India is ahead of Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan's struggles against India in Champions Trophy
Talking about the match, Pakistan batters yet again disappointed as they could only post a total of 241 despite Saud Shakeel's gritty 62 off 76. Mohammad Rizwan also contributed with a sluggish 76-ball 46. Kuldeep Yadav remained the pick of the bowlers for India as he returned with an impressive bowling figures of 3/40. In reply, India got off to a roaring start as after losing captain Rohit Sharma in the seventh over, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill combined to steer India to a dominant position. Kohli ended up notching his 51st ODI century to help India thrash Pakistan by six wickets.