Pakistan is boiling with anger. If the humiliating loss to India in the Champions Trophy 2025 was not demoralizing enough, the national team was eliminated from the tournament with a match still remaining in the group stage. This is a new low for Pakistan cricket.
Pakistan has been famous for its volatile style—zooming to thrilling heights and crashing to shocking depths for decades. But even that volatility appears to have dissipated in recent years. They last won a major trophy in 2017, when they shocked India in the Champions Trophy final. Since then, though, they have not managed a single ODI win against their great rivals.
In the wake of this recent disappointment, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram wasn't afraid to be critical. He was most disturbed by the diet of the team during the match against India, having a dig at them for their dependence on bananas.
"In the first or second drinks interval, I noticed a tray of bananas for the players. Even monkeys don't eat that many bananas! And this is their nutrition?" Akram said in a post-match review program. "If Imran Khan had been the captain, he would have thrashed me for this."
Akram did not leave it there. He criticized the team for playing what he described as "outdated cricket" in a time when the game had progressed at an unprecedented rate.
"Radical change is required. We've been playing old-ball white-ball cricket for too long," he asserted on Dressing Room, a post-match debate program, after Pakistan's defeat in Dubai. "This needs to change. We require new, bold cricketers. If that is at the expense of five or six changes in the team, so be it."
Akram called on the selectors to move with courage and begin rebuilding the team with one eye on the 2026 T20 World Cup.
"If you must lose for the next six months, that's alright—but at least construct a solid team for the future," he said.
He also revealed some shocking statistics, specifically aimed at Pakistan's disappointing bowling department.
"Enough is enough. We've turned them into stars, but see the numbers. Pakistan bowlers have managed only 24 wickets in the last five ODIs, averaging 60 runs per wicket," Akram said.
"Our bowling average is worse than Oman and the USA. Pakistan is second-worst among the 14 teams playing ODIs in terms of bowling average. That's not acceptable."
Pakistan’s cricketing crisis is now on full display, with one of its legendary figures calling for immediate reforms. The road ahead looks challenging, but unless major changes are made, Pakistan risks slipping further into mediocrity.
