Yesterday’s glory

Two games into the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and Pakistan is already looking at an early exit from the tournament. At the time this editorial was being written, Bangladesh was 236 runs for nine wickets in the first innings of its game against New Zealand in Rawalpindi. A triumph for the latter will mean Pakistan’s Champions Trophy journey is over. There will be no ‘cornered tigers’ comeback circa 1992. What makes this all even more depressing is that it might be India, the team whose cricket board has spared no chance to denigrate Pakistan’s host status in the lead-up to this tournament, that delivered the final blow. Sunday’s Pak vs India game was played away from home in Dubai, given the refusal of the BCCI to have their team play in Pakistan. Somewhat fittingly, the Indians seemed in control from the start. Apart from Virat Kohli’s unbeaten century in the second innings to seal the victory, they never needed to do anything spectacular. Simply managing the game like professionals was enough to see out the boys in green. Every time a Pakistani batter looked set in the first innings, he threw away his wicket or the Indians found a way to remove him through astute field positioning and tactical bowling. Openers Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam fell into the first category, with Imam being run out when there was no run-on and Babar playing a risky shot after getting a couple of boundaries. His 23 runs of 26 balls mean there is no end in sight to his poor run of form.

The middle order was a different story, with the Indians squeezing the field to encourage the Pakistani batters to play aggressive shots that might result in wickets. And they did. Ultimately, the 241-run target set for India was never going to be much of an obstacle for powerhouses like Kohli and Indian captain Rohit Sharma. That being said, the bowlers did not show much either this time. The whole team was insipid. One might argue that India has forced Pakistan to play on its terms and beaten us on them. But it is not like the team performed much better on home turf, losing the opening match to New Zealand by 60 runs. It is almost as though Pakistan did not even bother to try. If this is indeed the end of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy run, the post-tournament autopsy is about to begin. Blame will be directed to the usual culprits. Is it the players’ fault? Is it all Babar Azam’s fault? Is his replacement as captain simply not ready? What about the coaching? And is it finally time to fix the PCB and make sure it is run like a proper, professional sports body? This chorus, while not inaccurate, is by now tired.

Every tournament brings forth the same, with some changes in the names involved. And that is how one knows that nothing ever does get fixed. Pakistan cricket will most likely continue to operate as it always has done and more countries will improve and leave us behind. But this does not mean that the nation’s sports fans need to do the same. They can and probably should start looking for heroes elsewhere. Indeed, many already have with the English Premier League, mixed martial arts and boxing steadily building their following in Pakistan. This country’s fans deserve better. It may well be time for us to move on – because our cricket never will.