Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan, currently incarcerated, has expressed profound disappointment regarding the performance of the national cricket team in the ongoing Champions Trophy. As both the defending champions and host nation, Pakistan faced an unexpected and disheartening exit during the group stage of the ICC tournament.

This event marked the first time in 29 years that Pakistan hosted a global tournament on home soil. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, the team was eliminated within just four days, becoming the first of the eight teams to exit the Champions Trophy. They suffered a defeat in their opening match last week in Karachi against New Zealand, losing by 60 runs, and subsequently fell to India by six wickets in Dubai on Sunday. Pakistan's elimination was confirmed on Monday when New Zealand triumphed over Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, securing their place in the semifinals alongside India. This incident marks the fourth occasion on which Pakistan has exited in the first round of the Champions Trophy, with previous instances occurring in 2002, 2006, and 2013.

Aleema Khan, Imran's sister, conveyed to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi that the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was deeply saddened by the loss to India.

Pakistan is scheduled to play their final match against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

This marks the third consecutive time that Pakistan has failed to advance beyond the league stage in an ICC ODI tournament. They finished fifth in both of the previous two ODI World Cups, with their last significant achievement being the title in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Additionally, they experienced a surprising defeat to the unranked USA, which contributed to their group-stage exit in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

'Cricket will be eventually destroyed...'

Aleema stated that the charismatic former cricketer, who guided Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup, also raised concerns regarding the cricketing qualifications of Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

"Imran expressed that the integrity of cricket will ultimately be compromised when individuals with favouritism are placed in positions of authority," Aleema remarked, noting that the cricketer-turned-politician observed the match between the longstanding rivals.

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