Rain adds to Pakistan's pain as Rizwan & Co. end Champions Trophy campaign winless
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Pakistan's ICC Champions Trophy campaign ended winless. Their third and final group match against Bangladesh was washed out without a ball being bowled at Rawalpindi on Thursday.
Pakistan had lost their previous two matches by 60 runs to New Zealand and by six wickets to arch-rivals India. The game with Bangladesh, who were also winless, had been a dead rubber, but the incessant rain denied Pakistan a chance to bow out with their heads held high in front of a home crowd.
"We wanted to do well and perform well in front of our nation. The expectations were very high. We didn't perform well, and it was disappointing for us," said Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan lost two star players, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub, to injuries. While Ayub was ruled out before the start of the tournament, Zaman was injured while fielding in the first over of their opener against New Zealand in Karachi.
Rizwan said the absence of Zaman and Ayub left a huge void in their squad, but he chose not to hide behind that excuse. "As a captain, you can look forward to that as well. On one side, you can say that the team is disturbed, but this is no excuse. Yes, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were injured, but we will learn from this.
"We are all very disappointed. We are all here for the nation. Pakistan is our priority and the expectation from us was very high. We are upset and we are accepting that we didn't do well. Hopefully, we will do more hard work and comeback," Rizwan said.
The Champions Trophy was Pakistan's first ICC event in 29 years. It was hard task for them to convince the participating nations about their preparedness. While six other countries agreed, India remained firm on its position that playing in the neighbouring country with an unstable government and links to terrorism, was unsafe.
With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refusing to send its team to Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to arrange for Dubai to be a neutral venue for Team India. Pakistan had to fly out to play India in the tournament it was hosting. Should India advance to the final, Pakistan will also miss out on the chance to conduct the final on its home soil.