Irfan Pathan criticizes Pakistan before match against India in ICC Champions Trophy, warns of potential issues

Irfan Pathan, a former Indian all-rounder, has expressed his concern over the lack of determination shown by Pakistan's senior batsmen like captain Mohammad Rizwan and star player Babar Azam. He believes that their attitude could be a major obstacle as they gear up for their crucial Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match against arch-rivals India at the Dubai International Stadium.

In their pursuit of 321 runs set by New Zealand, Pakistan managed to score only 22 runs for the loss of 2 wickets during the first 10 overs, marking the lowest powerplay score in Champions Trophy history. Lacking any significant momentum in the chase, they ultimately fell short by 60 runs, despite some rapid contributions from Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha.

India commenced their campaign successfully by defeating Bangladesh by six wickets in Dubai.

This indicated that the match on Sunday against India was crucial for Pakistan, as they needed to win in order to remain in the tournament.

Pathan indicated that the lack of intent in the cricket played by Pakistan’s senior batsmen is their main issue as they prepare for the upcoming match against India.

“When it comes to Pakistan, look, they have plenty of problems in the team,” Pathan told PTI Videos on Friday.

“As far as some of the senior guys (are concerned), they don’t play that kind of aggressive modern-day cricket, especially in white-ball cricket. So, can they change it? It’s very difficult.

“But more than the weaknesses and the strengths, it’s all about the India-Pakistan occasion. Whoever handles the occasion really well, that team wins,” he said.

Pathan stated that the Indian team is in a stronger position to manage high-pressure scenarios.

“What we have seen in the recent past with the Indian team, we know how to handle a tough situation and the big occasion as well. As far as the talent is concerned, we are far ahead, especially in one-day cricket,” he said.

Pathan stated that Mohammed Shami will gain significant confidence from his five-wicket performance against Bangladesh, which enabled him to become the quickest Indian bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets.

“(It was) good to see Mohammed Shami get a fifer. He will get a lot of confidence out of it as well because after injury, coming back on the field, it’s not easy especially for fast bowlers (but) he did well,” Pathan said.

“We (India) have good all-round abilities in the team as well. Axar (Patel) is picking up wickets and we have a lot of options as well. Hopefully that momentum will be carried.”

“Shubman (Gill) is in tremendous form and once Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) keep scoring runs consistently, this team will be unstoppable,” he added.