Champions Trophy Pakistan Preview: Can Men In Green Overcome Emotional Overdose To Defend Title?

Last Updated:February 17, 2025, 22:04 IST

Here’s a look at the Pakistan cricket team for Champions Trophy 2025. Check out India’s best playing XI, full squad, injury list, full fixtures for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Babar Azam (L) and Mohammad Rizwan. (AFP Photo)

Hosting an ICC tournament comes with its advantages and disadvantages. For a side as much fueled by emotions as the Pakistan men’s cricket team, these pros and cons are even more stark.

The 2025 Champions Trophy is the first time since 1996 that the country is hosting an ICC tournament, and it’s doing that as the defending champions. Unlike 2017, when many had given up on them after the 124-run group stage defeat against India, people are expecting a special Pakistan performance as a given.

Then, the Champions Trophy is almost like a knock-out competition — a narrow loss to New Zealand on opening night on February 19, and you are reliant on other teams’ results to qualify for the semi-finals. All of it together would bring extreme pressure, which would need some handling.

The Men in Green’s ODI set-up has come together well since the harsh wakeup shock in the 2023 World Cup. And under the new captain, Mohammad Rizwan, the team seems to have found some unity and a joint vision, while needless mistakes have gone down and unpredictability has taken a back seat.

The team has also been helped by getting match practice through the tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand and warm-up matches. Regardless of their two losses to the Kiws, the only tangible concern is Babar Azam’s promotion to opening, and his inability to get a big knock there in the leadup to the curtain raiser.

If he does that in Lahore on February 19, it’ll set Pakistan’s tournament ablaze. If he doesn’t, it’ll kick off emotional Dominoes and where they stop will define the team’s fortunes.

Injury Setbacks

Babar has been asked to open because promising youngster Saim Ayub picked up an ankle injury in a Test against South Africa in January which ruled him out of the Champions Trophy.

The hosts have also been sweating on the fitness of pacer Haris Rauf, who picked up a ‘low-grade side strain’ in the first match of the tri-series against New Zealand. However, the team received a good boost in that regard on Monday, two days before the opener, as the pacer returned to the nets.

“I have started doing exercises a few days back and also resumed bowling since yesterday,” Rauf told reporters at the National Stadium. “I am feeling comfortable and my body is okay now. The team management will decide about my playing in the opening match,” he added.

History In Champions Trophy

Pakistan have played all eight Champions Trophy tournaments so far. Before 2017, they were eliminated in the group stage four times and reached the semi-finals thrice, with those two results coming alternatively.

Overall, they have played 23 matches in the Champions Trophy, winning 11 and losing 12. In their last five matches in the tournament, they have won four and lost one.

Mohammad Yousuf is Pakistan’s highest Champions Trophy run-scorer with 484 runs at 48.40 and Shahid Afridi is the highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps at 30.50.

Top Players to Watch Out For

Fakhar Zaman: Having returned to the team as Ayub’s replacement after recovering from injuries and a fall-out with the Pakistan Cricket Board, Fakhar Zaman would have a ton of eyeballs following him. He collected scores of 84, 41 and 10 in the three innings in the Tri-Series, which should be a sign of things to come.

Like in the 2017 final, Fakhar will likely have some moments in this Champions Trophy, where people will feel ‘Why?’, but there will be days when he’ll click and Pakistan won’t need anyone else. The left-handed big-hitter is extremely dangerous and even after eight years, still the hosts’ X-Factor in this format.

Abrar Ahmed: In a country and a team of pace-lovers, Abrar Ahmed is brilliant spin-bowling outlier. The leg-spinner has a bit of mystery to him and not many players in this tournament have faced him before as he isn’t a globe-trotter and the exposure to the Pakistan Super League, where he excells, is limited.

But he has managed 13 wickets in his seven ODIs so far at an average of 25.30 and often comes across someone who knows how to hold his own as a middle-overs aggressor in that team. He could be the surprise package to help Pakistan’s case in the tournament.

Strongest Playing XI

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (captain & wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed and Haris Rauf.

Recent ODI Form

• December 19, 2024: Pakistan beat South Africa by 81 runs
• December 22, 2024: Pakistan beat South Africa by 36 runs (DLS Method)
• February 8: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 78 runs
• February 12: Pakistan beat South Africa by six wickets (6 balls left)
• February 14: New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets (28 balls left)

Full Squad

Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Team Schedule

Group stage:

• Pakistan vs New Zealand – February 19 – Karachi, 2:30 PM IST
• India vs Pakistan – February 23 – Dubai, 2:30 PM IST
• Pakistan vs Bangladesh – February 27 – Rawalpindi, 2:30 PM IST