Pakistan entered the Champions Trophy 2025 with high hopes as defending champions, but their performance was far from expectations. They were quickly eliminated from the tournament they hosted, leading to widespread criticism. The team faced backlash for a perceived lack of effort from players and poor planning by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Even the celebrated players of the 1990s, a golden era for Pakistan cricket, came under scrutiny.
Mohammad Hafeez, former Pakistan captain, recently pointed out that the team from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s did not secure any major ICC titles, suggesting they didn’t inspire future generations in that aspect.
“They didn’t win an ICC event – they lost in 1996, 1999, and 2003. We reached one final and lost badly. They were mega superstars as players, but they couldn’t inspire us by winning an ICC event,” Hafeez stated. He added, “I am a big admirer of the 1990s players, but regarding their legacy, they didn’t leave a winning ICC event for Pakistan.”
Wasim Akram, the legendary Pakistan fast bowler, reacted strongly to these remarks.
“I have much to say about those criticizing. But I prefer not to give them importance. Those individuals are out of my life, and I don’t even want to mention their names,” Wasim Akram expressed on the Dressing Room Show.
Earlier, Waqar Younis, another Pakistan cricket icon, also responded to Hafeez’s criticism of the 90s and early 2000s stars. Waqar shared his and Wasim Akram’s achievements on social media, captioning it ’90’s KA LONDA (Boys of 90s)’. He highlighted their impressive Test and ODI statistics and wicket tallies.
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign concluded disappointingly. They lost their initial matches against New Zealand and India and drew against Bangladesh in their final match. Ultimately, Pakistan finished at the bottom of Group A with only one point and a net run rate of -1.087.
