India vs Pakistan: Following Pakistan's embarrassing six-wicket loss to India during their Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai, legendary Shoaib Akhtar launched scathing attack on PCB labeling them 'brainless and clueless'. Pakistan's humiliating defeat has pushed them on the verge of elimination which looks imminent. Meanwhile, India have all but qualified for the Champions Trophy semifinal.
Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar has specifically targeted PCB's team selection strategy, which heavily favored all-rounders, and argued that they were chasing a concept of 'intent' without possessing the required skill set to compete with India's top batters in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill. Akhtar however that the players themselves were not to blame, but rather the management's lack of strategic understanding.
Shoaib Akhtar calls out PCB after Pakistan's hefty defeat against India in Champions Trophy
Despite Saud Shakeel's gritty 62, Pakistan could only post 241-run total. In reply India rode on Virat Kohli's historic 51st century to chase down the total without breaking a sweat with 45 balls to spare.
“I am not disappointed at all because I knew what would happen. “You can’t select five bowlers, the whole world is playing six bowlers… you go with two all-rounders but this is just brainless and clueless management. I am really disappointed. We can’t blame the kids; they are just like the management—they don’t know what to do. The intent is a different thing, they don’t have the skillsets like Rohit, Virat, and Shubman. Neither they know anything, nor the management. They have just gone to play without any clear direction. No one knows what they should do," Akhtar said in a candid video on his X account.
“This was the batting. We all know the capability of this batting lineup. They can only show intent when they have the skillset. When they don’t have the skillset how can they do what Glenn Maxwell did (against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup)… just intent isn’t enough. You need intent, skillset and the execution, only then can you put up a good score. But this was Pakistan’s batting for you," Akhtar added.
Pakistan's path to the semi-finals looks like a far-fetched dream. First and foremost they need to bulldoze Bangladesh in their final group stage match on February 27. Beyond that, they are dependent on external factors and favourable outcomes from other teams. Specifically, they need both India and Bangladesh to defeat New Zealand, which would create a scenario where Pakistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand are tied on points. In such a case, qualification would be determined by net run rate, with the team possessing the highest rate advancing alongside India.
However, Pakistan's current net run rate is a point of concern for them, necessitating not only a large-margin victory over Bangladesh but also substantial losses for New Zealand against both India and Bangladesh.
