Champions Trophy 2025: Rizwan says Pakistan should qualify without depending on others

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted the team’s ICC Champions Trophy campaign is effectively over after a six-wicket loss to India in Dubai. He also dismissed criticism over including only one spinner in the squad.

Cricket enthusiasts were left dejected as India chased down Pakistan’s target of 242 in 43 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli’s brilliant century.

After winning the toss, Rizwan opted to bat first, but Pakistan struggled, getting bowled out for 241 in 49.4 overs. Pakistan suffered its first loss in the form of Babar Azam for 41 runs, who fell victim to Hardik Pandya's ball after scoring 23 runs, after which Imam-ul-Haq was run out after scoring 10 runs.

Mohammad Rizwan was out for 46 runs while Saud Shakeel returned to the pavilion after scoring 62 runs, Tayyab Tahir was out for 4 and Salman Agha for 19 runs.

Shaheen Afridi, who came after him, was dismissed without scoring any runs, Naseem Shah played an innings of 14 runs, Khushdil Shah scored 38 and Haris Rauf scored 8 runs.

Read: Babar Azam becomes 3rd Pakistani batter to score 1,000 runs in ICC ODI tournaments

For India, Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets, while Hardik Pandya claimed two. Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja took one wicket each.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rizwan acknowledged Pakistan’s bleak chances:

“For now, we can say it’s over. This is the truth,” he admitted.

The skipper emphasised that he relies on performance, not luck and Pakistan's failure to outperform other teams significantly reduced their chances of progressing.

“Our Champions Trophy fate depends on results of other sides and to be honest, as a captain I don't like such things. If you have strength, if you can win, then pull it off yourself. Don’t be dependent on favours of others. I don’t care even if we crash out of the tournament. I don’t care abou these things. Yes, these sides have beaten us, New Zealand and India, we accept our defeats, They have played well, we didn’t. We don't favours from anyone. But if God gives us an opportunity, then it's His wil.” 

“In the next match, we’ll see what Bangladesh does with New Zealand, what New Zealand does with India, and what we do. It’s a long journey. Yes, we have hope and believe in Allah. Our dependence on the Champions Trophy has now come on other teams," he added.

Check: Kohli's heroics power India to easy Champions Trophy win over Pakistan

Addressing criticism over team selection, Rizwan defended playing only one spinner, noting that India also relied on Kuldeep Yadav, with the rest being all-rounders.

He also pointed to Pakistan’s underwhelming batting as a key factor in the defeat.

“The middle order was not good enough. Yesterday in our meeting we had discussed that on this pitch 270-280 runs would be enough. Because the outfield was slow and the pitch was slow. If we had scored 280, maybe the results would be different."

Rizwan added that he and Saud Shakeel tried to build a partnership, but “poor shot selection” gave Indian bowlers the opportunity to capitalise.