Asian teams in a rut!

Pakistan players after an unsuccessful DRS review against India’s Virat Kohli in Dubai on Sunday. PIC/PTI

Playing in their backyard has proved anything but beneficial for the majority of the Asian teams in the ongoing Champions Trophy, especially for hosts Pakistan. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have already bitten the dust. With not much hope of Afghanistan making it to the knockouts, only India are keeping the Asian flag flying.

Maximum views from Asia

With as many as four of eight teams in the fray, the fans were expecting these Asian teams to dominate in conditions they were familiar with. As it is, the South Asian region is known to generate the maximum viewership and revenue for the game. It needs to be seen how the exit of the two Asian teams is going to affect the remainder of the tournament. Hopefully, India will compensate for their absences by going a long way.

With three Asian sides clubbed together, Group A became a tournament within a tournament, a virtual Asian Derby. It was known that the format was such that a team that slips on the first step would find it very difficult to recover. And that has been the case. Pakistan could not get past New Zealand to begin with and Bangla Tigers were tamed by India first up and from there, it was just a downward slide for these two teams. Now, only one of them can seek a consolation win when they clash in a dead-rubber game tomorrow.

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Hosting an ICC event after 29 years, for Pakistan, the outcome is nothing short of a disaster. Foreign teams have restarted touring the country only recently and to encourage the crowds to come to the stadium in huge numbers, it was imperative for Pakistan to do well in the tournament. The hosts were expected to make the semi-finals at least. But that dream has been shattered and what implications that will have only time will tell. Pakistan were a force to reckon with in squash and hockey. But those days are well behind them. Many experts feel cricket too may go the same way, which would be a shame for international cricket. As it is, the India-Pakistan matches are now considered overhyped due to the dwindling talent in Pakistan.

Former Pak players upset

Former cricketers have come down heavily on PCB's functioning. In a social media video, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq did not hold back his frustration. The former chief selector lamented Pakistan's inability to perform on big occasions. "We are not even standing anywhere. We get knocked out right at the start. The moment there's a little pressure, we completely collapse," he said.

"I am not disappointed at all [by the defeat to India] because I knew what would happen," former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said in a short video on his X account. "You can't select five bowlers? The whole world is playing six bowlers and you go with two all-rounders, this is just brainless and clueless management."

The former quick blamed the management for selecting a side that lacked the necessary skills and understanding to compete at the highest level. "I am really disappointed. We can't blame the kids [Pakistan players]; the players are just as clueless as the team management is! They don't know what to do."

It needs to be seen how Pakistan will come out of this perilous situation. It will be difficult for PCB to clean up its act as cricket governance is linked to national politics, which itself is so uncertain most of the time. For cricket's popularity, it is imperative for Pakistan to regain its status in world cricket. How that will be achieved is anybody's guess.