"That's called foolishness, my friend" - Aakash Chopra on Pakistan's future after exit from 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Pakistan are at their lowest point after their early exit from the 2025 Champions Trophy. He pointed out that the Men in Green would be "foolish" if they stuck with the same team and expected different results.

Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 60 runs and to India by six wickets in their two 2025 Champions Trophy Group A games. The Kiwis' five-wicket win against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Monday, February 24, knocked the hosts out of contention for a semi-final berth.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener reckoned that Pakistan might have to make drastic changes if they want to return to winning ways.

"Pakistan cricket is at its lowest ebb, which means there is no scope for going lower than this. You have gone really down and I don't think there is any way to come out of this. You can make radical changes and change everything," he said (17:50).

"If you think like that, maybe there is some hope, but the team you are playing, if you expect different results with that, which means you keep making the same mistakes and expect a different result, that's called foolishness, my friend, nothing else," Chopra added.

Pakistan's batting approach in the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy has been heavily criticized. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, two of their most accomplished players, have let them down the most, with the former scoring a 90-ball 64 in the 321-run chase against New Zealand and the latter consuming 77 deliveries for his 46 runs while batting first against India.

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"Their first response used to be aggression" - Aakash Chopra on Pakistan's timid approach in 2025 Champions Trophy

Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel consumed 24 overs for their 104-run third-wicket partnership in Pakistan's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against India. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Pakistan used to respond aggressively under pressure earlier.

"They have been predictably unpredictable always. However, there was one thing in Pakistan cricket which used to define them always, and it is probably our mistake that we think that those things can happen today as well, which is what is their first response to pressure. Their first response used to be aggression," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that India, in contrast to Pakistan, have adopted an aggressive approach lately.

"If we go 50 years back, India's first response used to be a defensive option. We didn't use to do a pre-emptive strike. We used to defend ourselves if someone attacked us but didn't attack anyone. The country's philosophy is probably your game's philosophy because that's your fabric," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra opined that the skill levels of India and Pakistan can't be equated. However, he added that bravado worked more than skills in white-ball cricket at times.