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KARACHI: Gloom and demands for wholesale change engulfed cricket-crazy Pakistan on Tuesday after the hosts crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the group stage, barely a week into celebrating the return of a major tournament.
The title-holders lost their opening game to New Zealand by 60 runs in Karachi last week before Sunday’s six-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India pushed them to the brink of an early exit.
Pakistan needed Bangladesh to beat New Zealand on Monday to keep their slim hopes of a place in the semifinals alive, but the result went the other way.
Thursday’s match with Bangladesh in Rawalpindi has been reduced to a dead-rubber.
“We have been backing these players for the last few years but they are not learning nor improving,” former captain Wasim Akram told AFP.
“It is time for a major shake-up. We need to improve our system of domestic cricket so that we can produce quality cricketers, not ordinary ones.”
A lack of competitiveness in domestic cricket and low-quality pitches have been blamed for not preparing players for the international stage.
The sport in Pakistan is also held back by frequent changes to the cricket board, coaching teams and selection panels, critics say.
Such changes are driven by politics and not merit, according to observers.
“I feel very despondent with the state of Pakistan cricket,” former captain Rashid Latif told AFP.

“We have to follow merit and bring in professionals in the administration of the game and not people on a political basis.
“Frequent changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board, selection committee and captains have failed us in forming a proper set-up and team.”
The early elimination stings for a country that had relished hosting its first major cricket tournament in 29 years, after significant improvements in security.
“We were thrilled that an international event had finally returned to our country, but the joy was short-lived,” said 26-year-old Umar Siraj, a pharmacist in Rawalpindi.
“The hardest part of being a Pakistan fan is that you end up praying for other teams to lose,” he chuckled. “It’s painful. I’m gutted.”
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy flop is nothing new. They also crashed out of the 2023 ODI World Cup in the first round in India.
It was followed by their exit at the same stage in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies last year — a tournament won by neighbors India.
Pakistan last month finished ninth and last in the World Test Championship after drawing a home series with the West Indies.
The latest debacle, and on home soil, represents a new low.
“It is disappointing that they didn’t even put up a fight,” said Naseem Satti, a 46-year-old government servant.
“We have no quality bowlers, no reliable batters and it seems cricket is dead in Pakistan.”
Asma Batool, a 52-year-old housewife, underlined just what cricket means to people in Pakistan.
“Cricket is the only source of entertainment for our youth,” she said.
“Our nation finds solace in this game.”

DUBAI: After a five-year absence from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Greece star Stefanos Tsitsipas returned with a straight-sets victory on Monday, defeating Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance to the second round.

The world No. 11 has enjoyed relative success at the emirate’s ATP 500 event in the past, having twice reached the final, in 2019 and 2020, only to lose to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

This year, returning as the No. 4 seed and back playing on the familiar hard blue Centre Court at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Tsitsipas looked comfortable, navigating a tight opening set before asserting control in the second.

Having broken Sonego midway through the first set, Tsitsipas immediately let his opponent level for 4-4 when he failed to hold serve.

And as both players held for the remainder of the set it was the two-time Grand Slam finalist who found himself staring at a 3-0 deficit early in the tiebreaker.

Yet he rallied and managed to turn it around through a series of aggressive returns. “It was not an easy first-round match,” said Tsitsipas, who saw his head-to-head record against the Italian improve to 4-0.

“There were a few troubles in the tiebreaker, but it was great towards the end. I felt I was in a bit of trouble at the end of the first set, but I came up with some good returns.

“And I think my attacking game redeemed myself in that moment. I was not backing down and that was something I was genuinely pleased with. I’m happy with how things turned out.

“The second set felt like the better set. I just went for my shots and they worked. It was a high-paced match. Against players like Lorenzo, you can’t blink because they can come up with all kinds of shots and can be dangerous in those moments.

“My return games were very important today in terms of coming up with solutions when I needed them the most.”

Tsitsipas will face unseeded Karen Khachanov next, a player he knows well having faced him nine times on Tour, and having trained together occasionally in Dubai during the off-season.

Khachanov, a resident of Dubai since 2016, will be hoping to improve his 1-8 head-to-head record when the two meet on Wednesday.

He defeated British wildcard Dan Evans 6-1, 6-3 to snap a three-match losing streak and claim a maiden win against the Dubai 2020 semifinalist, having lost all five previous meetings.

“From the beginning, I was playing at a really great level. I haven’t beaten him before — we always had tough matches — so I was really, really looking to get this first win,” said Khachanov.

He added that he would approach his second-round match with Tsitsipas with confidence. “I’m always, let’s say, believing in myself; I’m always going out there to fight.”

In the late match, France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard overcame China’s Zhizhen Zhang in straight sets, although he faced set points in the second and required a tiebreaker to close out the win.

Ranked No. 29 in the world, the 21-year-old provided an exciting showcase of his increasingly fearsome power, including a huge 235 kph second-serve during the tiebreaker.

“I felt confident,” said Mpetshi Perricard. “It was a tough first match, but I did a good tiebreaker and am very happy to get the win. I hope to play like this in the second round.”

Next up for the Frenchman will likely be top seed and world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, who faces unseeded Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday.

Medvedev is also no stranger to a powerful serve so — save for a shock upset by Germany’s Struff — Wednesday could provide fans with an engrossing showcase of sheer power from the service line.

Earlier in the day, Arab wildcards Hady Habib of Lebanon and Azi Dougaz from Tunisia, were both in action.

Habib, who represented his country at the Paris Olympics Games, faced world No. 27 Alexei Popyrin of Australia on Centre Court, losing 6-2, 6-4; while Dougaz lost 6-3, 6-3 to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.