Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt criticized Pakistan’s team approach after their crushing defeat against arch-rivals India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Pakistan suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat on Sunday against the arch-rivals India, leaving their title defence hanging by a thread.
While batting first, Pakistan managed a modest 241 before getting bowled out in the final over. In reply, India cruised to victory with 45 balls to spare, thanks to a masterclass from Virat Kohli, who notched up a brilliant century.
While speaking in a post-match show, Butt highlighted the green shirts’ struggles, lately, lamenting the team’s repetitive failures without learning.
“The issue is not just losing, but the fact that there is no improvement. If mistakes keep changing, it means you are trying new things.”
“But Pakistan don’t seem to know how to construct an innings, post a total, or chase one in ODI format,” he said.
The former opener took a dig at the Pakistan team’s batting approach against India, arguing that the team failed to grab the advantage of winning the toss and batting first.
“We win the toss, bat first, and get five players set, yet no one scores big. Every other team has had at least one or two centurions, but no Pakistani batter has produced a match-winning innings,” he added.
Salman Butt noted that the team’s bowling unit could not pose a threat to the Indian batter and failed to deliver against them in a crucial match.
“We started well with the ball, but once Rohit Sharma stepped forward and attacked, our bowlers lost control. When batters use their feet, bowlers need to adjust, but Pakistan’s attack struggled under pressure,” he observed.
For the unversed, after the defeat against India, the hosts and defending champion Pakistan are on the verge of elimination from the tournament.
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