Legendary Sunil Gavaskar came up with a sharp assessment of the decline of Pakistan’s white-ball cricket, saying that Mohammad Rizwan’s side would struggle even against India’s B team. Speaking to India Today, the former captain expressed his disbelief at how Pakistan, once a factory of natural talent, has failed to produce players capable of excelling at the highest level.
Gavaskar’s comments came after India hammered Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Dubai on Sunday, 23 February. A disciplined bowling effort and a century from Virat Kohli helped India continue their dominance over Pakistan in ODIs. Pakistan looked listless as their star batters, including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, failed to fire. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf suffered another dent to their reputations as Indian batters took them to the cleaners.
India chased down the target of 242 in just 42.4 overs, pushing Pakistan to the brink of an early exit from their home tournament.
“I think a B team certainly (can give Pakistan a run for their money). C team, I am not too sure. But a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form,” Gavaskar said.
Pakistan were hamstrung by injuries to two of their most explosive batters-Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub. Imam-ul-Haq, who replaced Fakhar, struggled to get going before being run out for 10 off 26 balls. Captain Rizwan played an underwhelming knock of 46 from 77 deliveries, showing little intent to put pressure on the Indian bowlers after Babar Azam fell early while trying to be more proactive.
