Lahore [Pakistan], February 2 (ANI): Former cricketer Basit Ali doesn’t think that defending champions Pakistan will be able to defend its title in the forthcoming Champions Trophy.
For the first time since 2017, the Champions Trophy has returned to the cricketing calendar year. Pakistan will host the marquee event with the UAE, aiming to defend the crown.
On Friday, Pakistan finally unveiled their 15-player squad, but it came at the cost of criticism. Former cricketers openly pilloried the selection of some players in the team.
While assessing the squad, Basit made a striking remark about Pakistan’s chances of reaching the final for the second successive time and said on his YouTube channel, “I don’t think Pakistan will reach the final, but if they do all the credit will be taken by selectors.”
Former World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting backed Pakistan to pose a substantial threat to tournament favourites Australia and India.
Basit believes the performances of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and captain Mohammad Rizwan will be fundamental to Pakistan’s success in the tournament.
“In batting, Babar, Fakhar and Rizwan, at least one needs to score big, a century in each match,” he added.
Before playing the tournament opener against New Zealand, Pakistan will feature in the tri-series against South Africa and the Blackcaps to fine-tune their preparations for the title defence.
The tri-series will kick off with New Zealand squaring off against Pakistan in the Gadaffi Stadium on February 8. The Kiwis will then face South Africa on February 10 in a day match.
After the conclusion of the first two games, the ODI action will move from Rawalpindi to Karachi, with the Men in Green taking on the Proteas on February 12 in a day/night match. The final of the tri-series will be held on February 14 at the same venue, five days before the tournament opener.
Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah. (ANI)
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