Renowned cricketers from India and Pakistan criticized England's tactics following their elimination from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Wednesday, after suffering an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan in Lahore. Wasim Akram, Sunil Gavaskar, and Waqar Younis made pointed remarks regarding England's leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who, despite having accumulated 10 first-class centuries, batted at No. 10 when England required 17 runs from 13 balls with two wickets remaining.

Rashid managed to score only 5 runs off 7 balls without hitting any boundaries before being dismissed on the second-to-last ball of the match. In their pursuit of 326 runs, England was bowled out for 317 in 49.5 overs, allowing Afghanistan to maintain their chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. This victory marked Afghanistan's second significant win against England, having previously triumphed over them in the ODI World Cup held in India in 2023.

Emphasizing Rashid's commendable batting record in domestic cricket, Akram noted that there is always an expectation to highlight the 11 (10) centuries the leg-spinner has achieved whenever he is in the commentary box.

‘Why doesn’t Adil Rashid open?

During a segment on the Ten Sports program 'Dressing Room,' Akram posed a question to the audience: "How is it that Adil Rashid has accumulated 11 centuries?"

Waqar Younis, Akram's former teammate, responded, "You should enlighten us, as you were the one who brought it up."

Akram continued, "Every time I enter the commentary box, a statistician keeps reiterating that he has 11 centuries. I apologize, Adil, but you do not appear to be a player with that many centuries."

Waqar Younis interjected, "You need to refrain from mentioning that during commentary."

Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian cricketer, joined the discussion with a playful comment: "If he is batting at No. 9, how can he possibly score a century? He ought to be opening the batting. This is a message that should be conveyed to the England team management regarding his 11 centuries; he should be at the top of the order."

In the match, opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran achieved a remarkable individual score of 177 runs off 146 deliveries, including 12 fours and six sixes, leading Afghanistan to a total of 325-7.

England, in response, was dismissed for 317, with Joe Root's impressive 120 runs off 111 balls proving to be in vain.

Root had kept England competitive, but after he edged a delivery from fast bowler Azmat Omarzai (5-58) to the wicketkeeper in the 46th over, Afghanistan maintained their composure, despite a few fielding errors, to secure a memorable victory with just one ball remaining.

This marked Afghanistan's second triumph over England in a significant 50-over ICC tournament, having previously won by 69 runs in the 2023 World Cup held in India.

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