Mohammad Rizwan opens up on Pakistan’s disappointing Champions Trophy campaign

Pakistan's white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan p[ens up on the team's shortcomings after their disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025. Pakistan, the defending champions, ended their campaign without a win, suffering back-to-back losses to New Zealand and India, before their final group-stage match against Bangladesh was abandoned earlier today due to weather conditions.

The abandonment of the Bangladesh fixture meant that Pakistan finished at the bottom of Group A, with just one point from their three matches. Rizwan acknowledged the team’s struggles in the tournament, reflecting on their poor performances both in the Champions Trophy and the recent tri-nation ODI series at home.

Speaking after the match, Rizwan said, "The results have been disappointing for the last few weeks, and we really wanted to perform in front of our home fans, who have high expectations of us. Unfortunately, we didn’t live up to those expectations."

He added, "We’ve identified our mistakes, both in this tournament and in the Tri-Nation series, and by the grace of Almighty Allah, we will work on them. Our next tour is to New Zealand, and we are hopeful to perform better there, as we made many mistakes against them here."

Rizwan also addressed the injury of young opener Saim Ayub, which had disrupted the team’s preparations for the Champions Trophy. While acknowledging the impact of Ayub's absence, Rizwan made it clear that the injury would not serve as an excuse for the team's performance.

"When a player who has been performing well in recent series in Australia and South Africa gets injured, it does affect the team," Rizwan explained. 

"However, as a leader, I have to focus on the other players too. This is not an excuse, and we will learn from these challenges," he further added.

When asked about the team’s bench strength, Rizwan pointed out the importance of improving professionalism and game awareness in order to compete with the top teams in world cricket.

"It’s a tough question, but we’ve seen some potential in the Champions Cup," he said. 

"If we want to see ourselves among the top teams, we need to improve in areas like professionalism and game awareness," he added. 

Reflecting on the tournament, Rizwan concluded, "It’s disappointing for us and for the nation. We are all upset, but we must accept that we didn’t perform as expected. InshaAllah, we will learn from these mistakes and aim to improve in the upcoming tournaments."

Pakistan's campaign in the Champions Trophy began on a disappointing note with a heavy loss to New Zealand. Batting first, New Zealand posted a challenging 320/5, with centuries from opener Will Young and wicketkeeper Tom Latham. Pakistan’s response was lackluster, managing only 260 runs before being bowled out in 47.2 overs. Khushdil Shah top-scored with 69 runs off 49 balls, while captain Babar Azam contributed 64 runs off 90 balls.

In their next match, Pakistan faced arch-rivals India in a must-win situation. However, their batting again failed to deliver, as they were bowled out for just 241 runs. Saud Shakeel top-scored with 62 runs off 76 balls. India comfortably chased down the target of 242 with 45 balls to spare, with Virat Kohli’s brilliant century guiding them to victory.

Pakistan's final group-stage match against Bangladesh was washed out due to rain, leaving them with no wins and at the bottom of the group.