Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan gestures on the finish of the ICC Champions Trophy one-day worldwide (ODI) cricket match between Pakistan and India on the Dubai Worldwide Stadium in Dubai on February 23, 2025. — AFP
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan acknowledged that younger opener Saim Ayub’s harm affected the crew’s preparations however insisted it was not an excuse for his or her poor efficiency within the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Pakistan’s remaining group-stage match towards Bangladesh was washed out on account of rain on Thursday, ending their marketing campaign and not using a single victory. The Inexperienced Shirts had already suffered defeats towards India and New Zealand, failing to register a win within the event.
Talking after the match on Thursday, Rizwan admitted that the crew fell wanting the nation’s expectations, including that Pakistan’s squad mixture was disrupted on account of accidents to Ayub and star batter Fakhar Zaman. Nevertheless, he maintained that the crew should transfer ahead and be taught from their errors.
“When a player who has performed exceptionally in the last two to three series gets injured, it does impact the team,” Rizwan mentioned. “But as a leader, you have to look ahead. There are other players in the squad, and we must not use injuries as an excuse.”
The wicketkeeper-batter additional admitted that the crew’s total efficiency had been disappointing in latest weeks however vowed to analyse their errors and work on enhancements earlier than the upcoming white-ball collection towards New Zealand subsequent month.
“Our results over the past few weeks have been disappointing,” he mentioned. “We wanted to perform well in front of our home crowd today, but unfortunately, we couldn’t. The nation has high expectations from us, and we failed to meet them.”
Rizwan mentioned that the crew had recognized their shortcomings throughout the Champions Trophy and the latest tri-series and would work exhausting to deal with these points earlier than their subsequent task.
“It’s frustrating. We are here for the entire nation, and we must accept that we haven’t performed well,” he added. “The public is disappointed, and so are we. InshaAllah, we will learn from our mistakes and come back stronger in future tournaments.”
