"How will a player score a hundred when the team is unable to score 250?" - Aakash Chopra on Pakistan ahead of PAK vs BAN 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Pakistan are the only team without an individual century in the 2025 Champions Trophy thus far. He pointed out that an individual hundred is unlikely if the team has struggled to reach the 250-run mark, but acknowledged that Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy scored a century against India in a 228-run total.

Pakistan will square off against Bangladesh in a 2025 Champions Trophy Group A game in Rawalpindi on Thursday, February 27. It's an inconsequential match, with both sides already knocked out of the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that the Pakistan batters had let their side down in their first two games.

"Pakistan-Bangladesh, of course, it's a dead rubber. Logically, there is no point in having this match, but it cannot be a pointless game for multiple reasons. This has been a batter's tournament thus far. There is no team, barring hosts Pakistan, whose players haven't scored a hundred," he said (14:00).

"Towhid Hridoy scored a hundred against India. However, no one from their team has done that thus far. How will a player score a hundred when the team is unable to score 250? However, Bangladesh also scored only 228, but that too had a hundred," Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra noted that Pakistan will play for pride in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh. While acknowledging that one shouldn't make fun of someone's bad situation, he opined that the Men in Green have been criticized fairly.

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"I want Babar Azam to score a hundred" - Aakash Chopra on his wishlist for Pakistan ahead of PAK vs BAN 2025 Champions Trophy clash

Babar Azam scored 23 runs off 26 deliveries in Pakistan's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against India. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked a Babar Azam century as one of the items on his wishlist for Pakistan in their 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh.

"Pakistan have to think how they can turn things around. What's my wishlist for Pakistan? One is that I want Babar Azam to score a hundred. It's been 66 innings, I think, since he scored a hundred. He scored a fifty in the first match and was playing decently in the 20-odd he scored against us. You are unfairly criticized at times," he said (16:00).

The cricketer-turned-commentator urged Muhammad Rizwan to lead by example.

"There is a lot of pressure on Rizwan - 'Either you win or you learn.' However, they are unable to win. So he needs to score runs because leading from the front is the only way," Chopra observed.

Chopra added that Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah needed to raise their game against Bangladesh.

"Even in bowling, I am going towards the big names. If Shaheen Shah Afridi is such a big name, the performance has to be big at some stage because his average has been 40-50 in the last seven or eight games. Same is with Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah," he elaborated.

Aakash Chopra urged Pakistan to end their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign on a positive note. He picked the Men in Green as the favorites in Thursday's game.