Former India legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Pakistan team following their disappointing performance and early ouster from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
During a recent interview, Gavaskar highlighted Pakistan’s bench strength and stated that even a second-string Indian team will defeat Pakistan.
“I think a B team from India can certainly give Pakistan a tough fight. A C team, I’m not too sure, but a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form.”
“Pakistan has talented players, but they haven’t been able to build a strong backup. It’s surprising that they have struggled to produce batters like Inzamam-ul-Haq,” said Gavaskar.
He further compared the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Pakistan Super League and lamented the absence of top-quality players.
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“The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is being played domestically, yet it hasn’t yielded enough top-quality batters,” he said.
“How has India produced so many young stars? It’s because of the IPL. Players from there have gone on to play domestic cricket and eventually for India. That is something Pakistan must analyze,” he added.
Sunil Gavaskar further criticized the Pakistan batters’ lack of intent during the game against India.
“Mohammad Rizwan hit the first ball of his innings for a four, and I thought we were in for something different.”
“However, the batters soon started blocking deliveries instead of rotating the strike. The Indian spinners completed their overs quickly, and it was surprising that Pakistan’s batters didn’t show any urgency,” he observed.
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For the unversed, the hosts and defending champions, Pakistan, were eliminated after losing their first two matches against New Zealand and India, respectively.
New Zealand beat the Green Shirts comprehensively in the Champions Trophy opener by 60 runs.
After their defeat against the Black Caps, Pakistan lost against arch-rivals India courtesy of a master class from Virat Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten century, chasing a modest total of 241 runs in Dubai.
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