Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Rumman Raees has addressed the remarks made by interim head coach Aqib Javed regarding the national team’s lack of experience after their early elimination from the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
Raees, a key member of the 2017 winning team, criticized Javed’s remarks that the current squad lacks experience, particularly after the team’s disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.
Ahead of the Men in Green’s last group match against the Bangladesh, Aqib Javed commented on the team’s lack of experience following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the marquee event.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Aqib Javed attributed the omission of young players Sufiyan Muqeem and Muhammad Irfan Khan due to inexperience in international cricket.
Raees pointed out that the squad that won the Champions Trophy for Pakistan also featured a degree of inexperience, highlighting that he and Fakhar Zaman made their international debuts in that same tournament.
“It’s not valid to use inexperience as an excuse,” Raees remarked.
“I made my ODI debut in the semi-final, and Fakhar Zaman was part of that same team. When you compare the 2017 Champions Trophy team to today’s squad, you’ll see that the current players have had fewer matches under their belts.” he said.
He highlighted that only a few players were experienced in the 2017 winning squad.
“The only players with significant experience back then were Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Junaid Khan,” he said.
Catch every Champions Trophy update here!
Rumman Raees stressed the importance of building a team around core players and pointed out that expecting every squad member to have extensive experience is unrealistic.
“A successful team is always centered around key players; you can’t expect all 11 players to have played 100 ODIs,” Raees concluded.
READ:Â Virat Kohli eyes major milestones against New Zealand in Champions Trophy