Pakistan's cricket team continues to face heavy criticism following their early exit from the Champions Trophy, with Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar stating that they would struggle even against a second-string Indian team.

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India, the 2023 ODI World Cup finalists, defeated defending champions Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai, further asserting their dominance in the rivalry. "A B team from India can certainly challenge Pakistan. A C team, I’m not too sure, but a B team will be very hard to beat in Pakistan’s current form," Gavaskar was quoted saying on Sports Today.

Pakistan, hosting an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, were eliminated after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh in another Group A match. They remain winless in the tournament. Since their 2017 Champions Trophy victory, Pakistan's performance in major ICC events has declined, finishing fifth in the last two ODI World Cups.

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Gavaskar expressed surprise at Pakistan’s lack of bench strength, given their history of producing naturally gifted players. "Pakistan always had natural talent. They may not have always been technically perfect, but they had an instinctive understanding of bat and ball," he said. Citing the example of Inzamam-ul-Haq, he added, "If you look at his stance, you wouldn’t recommend it to a young batter, but his temperament made up for technical shortcomings."

Despite the presence of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and domestic white-ball tournaments, the team has struggled to develop top-tier talent. Gavaskar credited India’s depth in white-ball cricket to the Indian Premier League (IPL). "The IPL has helped India produce so many young stars. Those players then gain experience in domestic cricket and go on to represent India. Pakistan needs to analyse why they no longer have the bench strength they once did."

India vs Pakistan: A one-sided rivalry?

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Meanhwile, former England captain Michael Atherton believes the once-thrilling India-Pakistan contest has become predictable and one-sided. "It was completely one-sided," he said on the Sky Sports Podcast. "Pakistan’s batting looked underpowered, just as it did in their game against New Zealand. They lacked energy and dynamism."

Atherton pointed out that while India-Pakistan matches generate immense hype due to their rarity in bilateral cricket, the results in the past decade have been overwhelmingly in India's favor. "They’ve played nine ODIs against each other in the last 10 years, and Pakistan have won only once—that was the 2017 Champions Trophy final at The Oval," he noted.

Although Pakistan still leads the overall ODI head-to-head (73 wins to India’s 58 in 136 matches), Atherton believes they have lost their competitive edge over the past decade.