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'It's A Shame...,' Mohammad Kaif Blames Pakistan For Rawalpindi Washout Fiasco

Arnav Chopra

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Source: @SkyCricket/X.com, @thecricketgully/X.com)Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Source: @SkyCricket/X.com, @thecricketgully/X.com)

The wait is over in the 7th match of the Champions Trophy 2025, where Australia and South Africa were slated to play in a high-profile clash at Rawalpindi. However, the rain threat proved to be real, as even the toss couldn't take place, which infuriated former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif.

Mohammad Kaif Blames Hosts Pakistan

The rain took over the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where both Australia and South Africa were all set to feature in the group B match of the Champions Trophy, however, not to be so. The rain failed to settle down, which caused much embarrassment for the ICC and hosts Pakistan.

This match was highly crucial in the context of this tournament, considering both sides had won one game each so far. However, things went south after India's former star Mohammad Kaif blamed the hosts, Pakistan, for not covering the ground entirely.

"It's a shame that the Rawalpindi ground isn't fully covered. Such an important match - SA vs Aus - might go down the drain because no one addressed this issue. Was the ICC money utilised wisely by hosts?"

Kaif believes that an essential encounter like South Africa and Australia should have had better facilities unlike this one. According to him, this ground is not fully covered, which is a significant issue as it wasn't even addressed.

He then further questioned the hosts' intent if they have utilized the money provided by the ICC properly. It is worth noting that only the square at the stadium was covered, with the rest of the ground left vacant for rain to put its feet upon.

Australia-South Africa Clash Abandoned Without Toss

While all this has been building up, the news from the Rawalpindi Stadium is gloomy, as the game has been called off due to plenty of water on the field.

Even the toss could not take place, as the umpires and match referee decided to call it the end before the scheduled cut-off time for a 20-over contest. Additionally, the final cut-off time was 8:02 PM IST, which was more than two hours away from the time when the game was abandoned.

Looking at the conditions, the match officials decided to call it curtains as they did not believed that things would improve anytime soon. Now, due to this washout, both teams will share one point each.