Pakistan’s hosting of the disastrous Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked significant criticism after the team became the first to exit the tournament. Led by Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan suffered defeats to New Zealand and India, leading to scrutiny of players, selectors, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Interim coach Aaqib Javed and his staff face potential dismissal post-tournament. Former cricketers Wasim Akram, Ajay Jadeja, and Nikhil Chopra discussed the qualifications of PCB selectors, highlighting concerns about their experience, with means of player selection being critiqued for relying too heavily on statistics rather than on-ground expertise. Pakistan and Bangladesh have been eliminated, while India and New Zealand advance.
The analysis of Pakistan’s disastrous Champions Trophy 2025 is underway. Pakistan has become the first team to be eliminated from the Champions Trophy 2025, a tournament they are hosting. From the players to the selectors and the top brass of the Pakistan Cricket Board, everyone is facing scrutiny following the timid exit of the Mohammad Rizwan-led team from the CT 2025. Pakistan began with a defeat against New Zealand and followed it up with a comprehensive loss to India in Dubai on Sunday. According to a report by news agency PTI, it is likely that interim coach Aquib Javed and the rest of the coaching staff may face termination after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy 2025.
During this tumultuous period, former Pakistan star pacer Wasim Akram highlighted a surprising issue regarding PCB selectors on a talk show that included former Indian cricketers Ajay Jadeja and Nikhil Chopra.
“Aapke waha first-class cricketer nahin hai? jo selector hain (Don’t the selectors in Pakistan have to be first-class players)?” Ajay Jadeja questioned.
“At the very least, they should have played a minimum number of games!” Nikhil Chopra, another ex-Indian cricketer, added.
“Are you suggesting that a national selector in Pakistan has never played First-Class cricket?” Jadeja pressed further.
“There was a selector who was a bureaucrat and was part of the selection committee until about six months ago. Currently, there’s an umpire who has played first-class cricket. Then there’s one person who specializes in statistics. I mean, why do you need a stats guy? Are you going to play with a computer on the ground?” Wasim Akram responded.
Following a loss to England in October 2024, the PCB expanded the selection panel to include umpire Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, and Azhar Ali, alongside Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema, a sports journalist and PSL team manager.
“If you are selecting players based on statistics, then you are not truly ‘selecting’; you are merely rejecting. The role of the selector is to identify who you can work with. When you and I were picked, we might not have had the best stats in the world. If you see a player and believe they have the potential to improve in the coming months, that’s the essence of what a selector does. Stats cannot dictate that,” Jadeja expressed.
“Stats can’t convey the situation or the on-ground reality,” Akram replied.
Ajay Jadeja is astonished to learn that one of our national selectors has never even played first-class cricket pic.twitter.com/RRvENPuSTt
— Ghumman (@emclub77) February 24, 2025
India and New Zealand have secured their spots in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals from Group A, leaving Bangladesh and Pakistan to exit the tournament.
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