WITH some unexpected results on the way, the ICC Champions Trophy is now in its business end. The top performers have taken their designated place in the knock-outs but the tournament has turned out to be a disaster for two teams. Hosts Pakistan are out of the tournament without a single while England’s white-ball woes have compounded with another early exit. Both the former World Cup winners stare at a heap of criticism and a volley of questions over their intent as well as attitude from fans and administrators alike. Pakistan’s case has been pathetic to say the least. The country got an international cricketing event of this big magnitude after a long wait of decades. Despite questions over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s capabilities to host the Champions Trophy, especially when the country’s economy in tatters, Pakistan did manage to hold games. But its cricket team came up a cropper, letting down the home fans after an embarrassing ouster from their own party.

 

The tournament has, in fact, exposed the dirty game of politics in Pakistan cricket. The board is a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. It is the cricketers who are facing the wrath due to their below-par performances. The fact is the team plays under a constant fear of chopping and changing, something which the PCB administrators indulge in at the drop of the hat. In the last three years, Pakistan cricket has seen 26 selectors, eight coaches and four captains. It sums up the atmosphere in Pakistan cricket. The Champions Trophy was a golden opportunity for Pakistan to convince the world about its hosting capabilities. Similarly, it was a chance for the Pakistan cricket team to corner glory in a global event after a long time in home conditions.

 

Though the PCB has fared well in hosting matches, despite the poor facilities to counter rains, Pakistan’s cricket team has plummeted to new depths looking clueless and spineless. The India-centric approach, too, has not worked as they were hammered by Virat Kohli in the ‘mother of all matches’. At the other end of the sinking boat is the England team. Their ‘Bazball’ tactic has been taken to the cleaners by almost every team in the recent few years. Like Pakistan, England, too, have gone home winless even stunned by Afghanistan in one game. In the other games, they failed to chase a 300-plus target and once failed to defend a 300-plus total.

 

The ouster from the tournament has extended the English team’s bad run in ICC tournaments since winning the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand. They failed to defend the title in 2023 and have tasted defeat in 18 of the 25 One-Day Internationals played since then. England’s downfall has much to do with a one-dimensional approach towards white-ball cricket. Coach Brendon McCullum promised to make it entertaining but has failed to raise a team needed to carry forward his plans on the ground. The team is being packed with almost same set of players despite some of them having a long bad run. All the follies were exposed in the Champions Trophy and before that in the ODI series against India. A rebuilding job is desperately needed for both England and Pakistan. This is big message for both the teams from Champions Trophy.