NEW DELHI: With just a few days to go for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out Pakistan’s tendency to crumble under pressure as a key weakness ahead of the tournament. Despite being the defending champions from the last edition in 2017, Pakistan have struggled in recent ICC events, failing to progress beyond the group stage in both the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra didn’t mince words while assessing Pakistan’s mental frailties in high-pressure situations.
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“Pakistan’s weakness is not a weakness of today. It’s a perennial weakness. Of course, they are the defending champions in the Champions Trophy, but the truth is that they get stuck under pressure. They lost to the USA in the last ICC event (2024 T20 World Cup) and didn’t qualify for the second round,” Chopra remarked.
Pakistan’s erratic performances in major tournaments have raised concerns about their ability to handle crunch situations. While they managed to reach the 2022 T20 World Cup final, their 2023 ODI World Cup campaign was disastrous, where they failed to make the semi-finals.
Chopra further highlighted Pakistan’s inconsistency as a major drawback heading into the tournament.
“They are inconsistent. Their graph goes up and down. They rarely have a flat line. They are probably like their country. Their country also goes like that, up and down. The same is reflected in their cricket team,” he stated.
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Pakistan’s unpredictability has long been a double-edged sword. While they can pull off stunning victories, they have also suffered shocking defeats. Chopra believes that this volatile nature adds to their troubles.
“They are volatile. They are an unpredictable side. Pakistan’s middle name is unpredictable. So imploding under pressure and an unpredictable side, those are a couple of issues. Can Pakistan overcome that? That is my question mark because they will be under pressure,” Chopra added.
With home advantage in the Pakistan leg of the tournament, Mohammad Rizwan and Co. will be keen to dispel doubts about their ability to handle pressure. However, with their high-profile clash against India on February 23 in Dubai, the real test of their mental strength will come early in the competition.
