Mohammad Rizwan's Surprising Move Exposes PCB, Michael Clarke Unleashes Scathing Criticism

Pakistan is facing a tough time after suffering back-to-back defeats in the 2025 Champions Trophy, putting their chances of advancing to the next stage in serious jeopardy. Following a disappointing loss to New Zealand in Karachi, the defending champions were handed another defeat by India in Dubai, leaving fans and experts alike perplexed. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke also expressed his surprise at the lack of strategy from Mohammad Rizwan's team against India and criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not addressing the recurring issues that have plagued the team in recent ICC events.

Speaking on the YouTube show Beyond 23, Clarke said he could not understand why Pakistan made just one change in the XI despite playing in a vastly different condition than that in their opening game at home. The hosts included Imam-ul-Haq for the injured Fakhar Zaman, who was ruled out of the tournament in the match against India.

"Pakistan have struggled to deal with the expectation and pressure of playing a major tournament in their backyard. So before a ball was delivered, I could not comprehend how they could. Apart from one change due to injury, Fakhar Zaman was out with that injury sustained in the first game, they made no other changes. They're playing in entirely different conditions. The conditions in Dubai on that pitch are virtually the opposite of what they just played against New Zealand, yet just one force changed. I could not believe what I was watching," he said.

Clarke also called follies in Pakistan's batting approach, saying they played with fear of getting out rather than deciding to put on a counter-attacking show against the Indian attack. Hence, he reckoned the game was over even before India began their chase of 242 in Dubai.

"It's okay to have a bad plan, but a bad plan is better than no plan. Pakistan, to me, I don't know what their plan was. I don't know what their plan was with selection. I don't know their plan with how they went about the start of their innings. I don't know what their plan was against spin, which they, you know, are very good spin players. I don't know what their plan was to beat India. You can't turn up to the biggest game of the tournament. It was like a final for these two teams without a plan, and that's how it looked to me," he added.

'It's not talent; it's not potential...'

The former Australia batter recalled that at the start of the Champions Trophy, he said that Pakistan's campaign would be more about their mental preparations. However, the team has failed to make the knockout stage in their last three ICC ODI tournaments. Not to forget, they suffered a group-stage exit even in the 2024 T20 World Cup after a shock defeat to the unranked USA.

"I go back to the start of the tournament, when I said that would be my biggest concern with Pakistan. It's not talent; it's not potential. They have plenty of it. But unfortunately, I think they're gone. I don't think they can make the top four now. To me, this is probably the tournament I'm looking closer at Pakistan than any other ICC tournament. I know this game was in Dubai, but virtually, it's been their second cricketing home when they haven't been able to play inside Pakistan, so they know those conditions so well. The game against New Zealand—they just played New Zealand and South Africa in a tri-series—their preparation and form were perfect. Leading into this tournament, it would only be the mind, the expectation, and that fear of failure that would set them back or let them down. And again, it's not just performance or winning and losing; it's how you're winning and how you're losing. Sometimes, as a captain, senior player, coach, or administrator, you've got to look at. If you keep making the same mistakes or expecting to, you know, pick the same 11 and get different results, play the same brand of cricket and get different results, or make the same decision to get different results, it can't happen," he said.

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