Champions Trophy: “Black Magic Helped India to Beat Pakistan:” Pakistani Media
NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Pakistan’s shambolic defeat against India in the high-voltage Champions Trophy 2025 league game has as usual become tough to swallow for the Pakistani team’s fans and supporters including the media.
But nothing perhaps could beat a viral Pakistani TV debate in which some shocking and bizarre allegations were made with one of the panellists claiming that India sent 22 Hindu priests (pandits) to Dubai International Stadium to perform “black magic,” which distracted the Pakistani players.
Additionally, another panellist suggested that this was the reason why India refused to play in Pakistan, as their ‘Pandits’ wouldn’t be allowed. The discussion further alleged that seven priests visited the ground a day before the match to conduct rituals. The video is doing rounds the corner among the netizens, drawing widespread ridicule.
Riding on Virat Kohli’s 51st ODI ton, India beat Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided clash on Sunday to seal a spot in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy with the defending champion Pakistan virtually out of contention. Pakistan was bowled out for 241, while India chased the target in 42.3 overs. With the win, Kohli created history as he became the quickest batter to score 14,000 runs in One-Day Internationals, surpassing master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s previous record.
This is not the first time that the Pakistani media blamed “black-magic” tactic for the loss. During ICC World Cup 2023, a Pakistani journalist had alleged that BCCI took the help of ‘black magic.’ A Pakistani scribe, Hareem Shah, had alleged that the then BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had hired a tantrik to perform ‘black magic’ during the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad and orchestrated the then Babar Azam-led team’s defeat. India had won the match by 7 wickets.
“According to reliable sources, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had enlisted the services of a black magic expert and Tantrik named Karthik Chakraborty to perform black magic on the Pakistani team. The International Cricket Council (ICC) should investigate this matter thoroughly, as it is simply unacceptable,” Shah had said on X.
Fans of the Pakistani cricket team have expressed utmost disappointment, with some not even surprised by their country’s loss to India in the Champions Trophy humdinger on February 23. Some also said the Pakistan team should take some accountability for playing with the sentiments of the people. Islamabad nationals said they were already supporting the Indian team because they believe the Pakistan team “lacks efforts, fitness, and skills.”
Talking to reporters following the match, a Pakistani cricket fan said, “They (Pakistan team) have lacked the required efforts, fitness or skills, that is why we supported India in today’s match.” “We know that they (Pakistan Cricket team) cannot beat their (Indian Cricket Team) calibre, skills and form. Virat Kohli was out of form for the last year, but we knew he would return to his form once he faced Pakistan and hit a century,” he said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
