Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan’s Cricket Obsession—At What Cost?

Pakistan’s early exit from the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025 isn’t just a sporting failure—it’s a reflection of our deeply flawed sports priorities. Cricket has monopolized Pakistan’s sporting landscape for decades, consuming billions in funding while other sports, where Pakistan has a proven track record of success, are left to wither. The question is: why does Pakistan treat cricket as the only game worth investing in while consistently ignoring other sports that have brought international glory?

Let’s talk about the numbers. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) enjoys a lavish budget, approving PKR 15 billion for cricket-related activities in 2022-23, with 78% of that amount funneled into domestic and international cricket events. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s entire sports sector received a mere PKR 3.47 billion in the 2022-23 budget—less than a quarter of what cricket alone receives.

In the 2023-24 budget, the government announced a PKR 5 billion allocation to promote sports at the grassroots level, aiming to integrate athletics into schools, colleges, and professional sports. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, while presenting the budget, emphasized the need for a healthier, more active society. Yet, despite this pledge, Pakistan’s non-cricket sports federations—hockey, athletics, squash, and others—continue to struggle with a lack of investment, infrastructure, and institutional support.

The Stark Budget Disparity: How Other Sports Are Left Behind

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has allocated over PKR 500 million to various sports federations and athletes for the 2023-24 financial year. In 2022-23, the amount exceeded PKR 420 million, while in 2020-21, just over PKR 40 million was allocated. The year 2021-22 saw PKR 69.5 million, while 2019-20 had a mere PKR 25 million.

The documents reveal that the Pakistan Hockey Federation received PKR 103.6 million over the past five years, with PKR 59 million allocated last year. The Athletics Federation was given over PKR 100 million, and the Volleyball Federation received a grant of PKR 100 million for 2023-24 alone, totaling over PKR 115 million in the past five years.

The PSB also allocated PKR 70 million to the Athletics Federation for 2023-24, PKR 70 million to the Netball Federation over five years, and PKR 65 million in the last two years. The Taekwondo Federation received PKR 60 million, and the Tennis Federation was allocated nearly PKR 49 million.

Additionally, the Squash Federation received PKR 50 million, the Rifle Association was given PKR 26.5 million, the Boxing Federation received PKR 30.5 million, the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association received PKR 24.7 million, and the Cycling Federation was allocated nearly PKR 40 million.

Despite these allocations, the disparity remains glaring—non-cricket sports must divide a budget that cricket alone exceeds multiple times over. Cricket eats up the lion’s share of funds, yet its performance on the global stage has been inconsistent at best.

Pakistan has played in 13 Cricket World Cups since 1975, yet has won just one title, in 1992. The only other time it made the final was in 1999, only to lose comprehensively. That means for 11 out of 13 World Cups, Pakistan has failed to reach the final. while other sports that have brought home Olympic medals, world titles, and historic victories remain in the shadows due to chronic neglect. This lack of consistent success is even more frustrating when compared to sports that have delivered on the world stage despite receiving little to no investment.

Take field hockey, for instance. Once Pakistan’s pride, hockey brought home three Olympic gold medals (1960, 1968, 1984) and remains the only sport where Pakistan holds the record for most World Cup titles (four wins). Yet, today, it struggles even to qualify for international tournaments due to lack of funding. Similarly, Pakistan dominated squash for nearly 40 years, thanks to legends like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, who won 16 British Open titles and 14 World Opens. Snooker, another overlooked sport, saw Mohammad Yousuf become World Snooker Champion in 1994 with little state support. More recently, Arshad Nadeem made history by winning Pakistan’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in athletics (2024, Javelin Throw), again with minimal resources.

Also See: Pakistan Knocked Out of ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 as Hosts

Why Is Cricket the Only Sport That Gets Attention?

Yet, despite these achievements, Pakistan remains fixated on cricket. Even cricketing icons seem stuck in the past—Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar still dominate endorsements, while fresh talent struggles to gain recognition. Contrast this with countries like the United Kingdom, where David Beckham remains as relevant as England’s top cricketers, or China, where basketball and athletics stars are just as celebrated as those in other sports. Why does Pakistan continue to operate under a one-sport mentality?

The Champions Trophy 2025 should serve as a wake-up call. Pakistan’s Northern regions—Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan—are natural breeding grounds for extreme sports like mountaineering, paragliding, and cycling. The country has raw, untapped talent in hockey, squash, snooker, and athletics that could bring home medals and global recognition, but only if they receive the funding and attention cricket does.

It’s time to rethink our priorities. Why should billions be poured into cricket when other sports have delivered global victories with little to no support? Why do we continue to reward mediocrity in cricket while ignoring athletes who have brought genuine honor to the country? Pakistan has the potential to be a multi-sport nation, but first, it needs to stop acting like cricket is the only game that matters.

The numbers speak for themselves—Pakistan’s sports policy is not just cricket-centric; it is cricket-obsessed, often at the cost of disciplines where the country has genuine, world-class potential. If we truly want to revive Pakistan’s sporting dominance, we must break free from this one-dimensional approach. It’s time to invest in a broader spectrum of sports, provide infrastructure and funding for athletes across disciplines, and finally recognize the talents that have been waiting in the wings for far too long.