Pakistan’s long-awaited return to hosting global events after thirty years was spoiled by Wednesday’s opening ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match: Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 60 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi.
President Asif Ali Zardari was among thousands of fans present at the National Stadium in Karachi, as Pakistan hosted its first ICC event since 1996.
But Pakistan’s poor performance let down a capacity crowd of 29,300.
Batting first after winning the toss was of great advantage to New Zealand as Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (118 not out) each struck centuries; New Zealand scored 320 runs for the loss of five wickets. There was also a blazing fifty from Glenn Phillips (61 off 39).
Pakistan fell short, being bundled out for 260 with 64 runs coming off the bat of Babar Azam and a further 69 from Khushdil Shah. Salman Agha contributed with a fast knock of 42 off 28 balls.
Despite the harrowing defeat, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said the current cricketers are the ‘best players’ Pakistan currently has because they are not selected due to recommendations and favoritism, despite having ‘5-6 selectors.’
“If you want me to be brutally honest, I can. Look, in our culture, we are kind of like, ‘okay, these are our kids; don’t criticize.’ It’s very normal here. But I think these are our best players. If there were someone better than them, he would have been there. Here, we have this word called parchi. At this level, parchi doesn’t work. It’s very difficult to explain to Pakistan people,” said Akram.
“We have 5-6 selectors; it’s quite a complicated situation. The domestic structure has changed. ”
But because of security issues, Pakistan has not held an international tournament on a bigger scale since they shared hosting duties with India and Sri Lanka at the World Cup in 1996.
Matches will be played in three cities of Pakistan, but there will be matches in Dubai for the accommodation of India, which refuses to visit its neighboring arch-rival.
The eight-nation event kicked off as President Zardari graced the event with his presence alongside the Pakistan Air Force flying over the stadium.
