Pakistan vs Bangladesh abandoned: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 – updates

That is it from our live coverage of the wash out in Rawalpindi.

A winless Champions Trophy ends for the hosts Pakistan and also Bangladesh.

Do join us for Australia against Afghanistan on Friday.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this one, and on behalf of Hafsa Adil, this is Kevin Hand signing off.

The Group A decider will be played on Sunday when India face New Zealand in Dubai.

The Indian warm-up for the match is well under way:

Real Madrid secured a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad in a Copa del Rey semifinal first-leg clash marred by further racist abuse of Brazilian international Vinicius Junior.

Fellow Brazil forward Endrick scored the only goal of Wednesday’s game in the first half at Reale Arena in San Sebastian in the north of Spain.

However, there was controversy just before half-time when the match was paused because of chants of “Asencio die” being aimed at Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio.

A video subsequently emerged on social media of a Real Sociedad fan appearing to make monkey gestures at Vinicius Junior while the game was stopped.

Afghanistan’s performances at the 50-overs and Twenty20 World Cups mean there is no chance of Australia taking them lightly in Friday’s Champions Trophy match, particularly with a place in the semifinals on the line, coach Jonathan Trott said.

Afghanistan beat England by eight runs in Lahore on Wednesday to stay in the hunt for a berth in the last four, underlining their strength in limited-overs cricket.

Trott’s side beat England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to finish sixth at the 50-overs World Cup in 2023 and followed that up by making the semifinals of the T20 edition last year, beating Australia along the way.

“It’s all on the line, and since I’ve been coach we’ve played against Australia three times and we’ve been in the game in each of those games,” former England batter Trott told reporters.

“We should take a lot of confidence from that … certainly what happened in the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and I say this to the players as well, that Afghanistan’s never going to be taken lightly ever again.

“We’ve got to be prepared because I know Australia aren’t going to take us lightly. In the past, perhaps people would have seen the fixture and thought it was a little bit easier than playing a historic test nation.

“In this format, in these conditions, I don’t see that. Every game that we play is going to be competitive and every game we go into I expect to win.”

Click here for our full report from the washout in Rawalpindi.

We’ll be back on Friday with the crunch match between Afghanistan and Australia.

Do join us for the Group B fixture in Lahore.

The Tigers welcome Zimbabwe for a tour in March before they themselves head back to Pakistan for a tour in April.

Pakistan head to New Zealand for a five-match T20 series, with three one-day internationals to follow.

The series begins on March 16. After that, their next series is against the West Indies, beginning in late July.

“It’s been a revolving door with the coaches and management and even with the chairman,” the former Pakistan international told the official ICC broadcast.

“It has been an on flow of changes and going full circle. That affects the players as well. Not having people that will be there with a clarity in the way you will play and selection.

“They need to choose a direction and stick to it. Follow a process, which Pakistan do not seem able to do. Carry that plan through not just for eight months.

“Rizwan was clearly disappointed and not clear on direction (in his post-match interview).

“There will be not one but a few meetings after this debacle, as to how they are going to approach this.

“The coach is interim so there will be a decision on that too – and how they will construct the squad and take the team forward.”

Today’s match was the last of Champions Trophy action in Rawalpindi.

The northwestern Pakistani city, adjacent to capital Islamabad, has previously hosted two group games, one of which ended in a washout.

The tournament will move towards the eastern city of Lahore, the home of cricket in Pakistan, where a buoyed Afghanistan will take on Australia on Friday.

The match is set to be played under a cloud of tense relations between the cricket boards of both countries. Rain clouds could also have their say on the action.

Al Jazeera will bring you all the action, as well as weather updates, from Lahore.

Karachi will host its last game on Saturday, when South Africa meet England, and then action moves to Dubai, where India will take on New Zealand in the tournament’s last group game.

Full match schedule of the ICC Champions Trophy.

“There is talent and there are players there but as a team you need to go and perform and produce something special,” the former Bangladesh international told the official ICC broadcast.

“There is some discussion as to how long the older players can go on for but it’s over to the youngsters now to produce something special.

“When you go in to play any format at any event, you have to go in and start winning matches.

“They are happy with the bowlers, but the batting has been a major concern.

“If you lose early wickets, make sure someone is there to bat through.”

“I would like to see clear direction as to how they want to play white-ball cricket,” the former Pakistan batter said on the official broadcast as the hosts’ campaign in the tournament came to an end.

“The way they have played in this tournament – a power play where you get 22 – that is going back years.

“They need to play in the modern era and the way it is played now.

“They need to do what Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss [former England captain and coach, respectively] did in 2017 and how they played.

“There is a gap and Pakistan need to catch up. It needs to start right now and right here.

“Yes, team composition, but how the team wants to play. They were not putting enough runs on the board, there were not enough spinners and in home conditions, they couldn’t select a squad which could perform.

“They need a direction to focus on.”

“We are very disappointed; we really wanted to play, but it can happen in cricket,” the Bangladesh captain said with regard to the washout.

“If you look at our two matches, we learned a lot. The way that we held the game for long periods of time is exciting for us. I hope the little mistakes we make a proper plan going forward and correct those things.”

“We struggled with the fast bowlers in the last couple of years. I want bowlers like Nahid Rana and Ahmed Taskin to step up. We have good spinners now as well.”

“I hope they will do their job, adapting to the situations and helping the team.”

“What I have to practise properly, and the boys need to in the nets, is how to rotate the strike ahead of the match. It’s important. I hope the boys will understand what they need to do.”

“The last couple of weeks were not good,” the Pakistan captain said. “The expectation of the nation is highly appreciated and it’s disappointing for them and us.

“All the mistakes in the last couple of weeks, we have to work on it. We go to New Zealand next and we know what mistakes we made here against them and now we need to do better there.

“As a captain and leader you have to look forward, we have the players. We don’t want to use injuries as an excuse, we must learn from this.

“If we want to improve we have to look to a higher standard. We need more professionalism, we need more improvement.

“It’s disappointing because we are here for the nation. We accept our nation will be upset, the question is why didn’t we perform well.”

Both captains are heading for the post-match ceremony.

The weather has won the day in Rawalpindi, but we have more reactions to both sides’ tournaments to come.

Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons broke down the team’s performance in the first two games while speaking to the official ICC broadcast.

“We have played good in parts. We played well in the back in the first game, having been poor at the start,” he said.

“It was reverse in the second. The bowling has been good and the fielding – a couple of dropped catches, but that happens. We need to put it together with the batting.”

On Nahid Rana’s emergence as a fast-bowling talent, Simmons added: “He’s been fantastic, he wants to learn and loves bowling fast.”

“[Against Pakistan] It’s going to take a team effort again, with guys doing well in certain situations.”

The former Pakistan international told the official ICC broadcast: “It’s almost as though Pakistan are playing in another decade.”

“All the other teams are ultra-aggressive, whereas Pakistan are still stuck in that 1990 mentality, and it shows the difference between the top sides and Pakistan cricket.”