"Why is no one talking about what’s wrong with English cricket?" - Former captain defends Pakistan despite 2025 Champions Trophy exit

Former Pakistan cricketer Asif Iqbal has defended the national team despite their unceremonious exit from Champions Trophy 2025, arguing that England need to be held equally accountable for their poor performance. Iqbal believes Mohammad Rizwan and company lost mainly because their opponents played far better cricket than them.

The defending champions, along with Bangladesh and England have been eliminated from the eight-team tournament. The Men in Green ended the event winless, losing to India and New Zealand, while their match against Bangladesh was washed out. Pakistan have copped backlash, given the country is hosting an ICC event after 29 years. England, meanwhile, suffered defeats to Australia and Afghanistan to crash out.

Speaking to The Times of India, the former captain said:

"Nothing is wrong with Pakistan cricket. The other teams are playing better cricket than Pakistan. Whether batting first or chasing, we lost because our opponents played better cricket than us. Why is no one talking about what's wrong with English cricket? Batting first, they couldn't defend 351 and batting second they couldn't chase down 326. I have a totally different view on this."

Due to England's shambolic performance in the 2025 Champions Trophy, their skipper Jos Buttler announced on Friday, February 28, that he will step down as captain at the end of their campaign. The game against South Africa on Saturday, March 1, will be his final white-ball game as skipper. The Asian Giants could also undergo wholesale changes from captaincy to support staff after an early exit.

"The reason for this hype is the expectation of the supporters of both teams that their team is better than their opponents" - Asif Iqbal on India-Pakistan rivalry

Virat Kohli scored a ton against arch-rivals. (Credits: Getty)

In the same interview, Iqbal candidly pointed out that the current Indian team is far better than their Asian counterparts and that he was not surprised about Rohit Sharma and company winning in Dubai. He said:

"The reason for this hype is the expectation of the supporters of both teams that their team is better than their opponents and not realistic enough to accept that the present Indian team is on the top of rankings and we are at the bottom. Look, I want to emphasise here that the expectations of the Indian and Pakistani fans makes an Indo-Pak contest look like the clash of the titans. The fact is that you call it a clash of the titans when, for example, in tennis, No 1 ranked player plays a No 3, or No 4 ranked player, it will be billed as the clash of the titans."

"However, if a superstar and all-time great like Novak Djokovic plays a 100th ranked player in the second round, he will be expected to win, and if he loses, it will be termed as a 'shock'. Likewise, if Pakistan beat India, or any other team, in an ICC event, that other team must have a very bad day. And I'm not belittling Pakistan here, but stating the reality. Pakistan has lost to a second-string South Africa and New Zealand at home recently. So, for me, it wasn't a surprise that they lost to India and New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Ultimately, these are the players that we have. It's better to give them confidence."

India will either play South Africa or Australia in the Champions Trophy semifinal on March 4.