Pakistan has appointed its 15 players squad for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, which will be played at home and the EAU. Mohammad Rizwan will lead the team, as he has done since Babar Azam resigned after the ODI 2023 World Cup. But there are some surprises in the team with some senior players who return, as well as a new role for Babar.
Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025
Mohammad Rizwan (C), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Saalman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abar Ahm, Haris Rasnain Em Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Absent key: Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique
Rising Batter Saim Ayub is a great failure for Pakistan. He suffered an ankle injury during the New Year’s test in Cape City and has not recovered in time. Ayub has been one of Pakistan’s best batters in this format in recent times, averaging 64.37 in his last nine hate, including three centuries. In fact, since the 2023 World Cup, he is the only batter of Pakistan, apart from Kamran Ghulam to make a hundred, and has three of those.
“We understand how much I long for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and we recognize how devastating it must be for him to lose a global event, especially when he is in such an exceptional batter,” said the National Committee of Selection Asad Shafiq.
“However, as a valuable asset for our team, we are committed to prioritize your long -term health on making hurried decisions.”
Abdullah Shafique starter has also left out after his lower pair performance in Odis from the World Cup in 2023. Shafique has 196 races in the last nine games, with an average of 28.00, with only two years fifty.
Babar Azam ready for the new role when Fakhar Zaman returns
The absence of Ayub and Abdullah opens the door for Babar Azam to return to a first -order role, which will probably see it associated with Fakhar Zaman, who returns to the team. Babar has opened only twice in Odi, both in 2015, but an ABCK movement at the top is not just speculation now with the member of the Asad Shafiq Selection Committee confirming that Pakistan is thinking about that direction.
The veteran opener Fakhar Zaman is back in the squad. His performance in the Champions Trophy 2017 final, where he broke 114 of 106 balls against India, remains a key culminating point of his career. The 34 -year -old played for the last time in Odi in 2023, and it is likely that Ayub is injured. It is expected to take one of the opening spaces. His recent numbers on T20 have been quite encouraging, and Fakhar will be key in a batting alignment in another unpleasant way.
“Fakhar’s opening partner could be Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on several factors such as conditions, opposition and coincidence strategy,” Shafiq explained.
“Both players are very capable at the top of the order, and Babar is particularly seasoned in the paper, regularly opening in T20is and also stands out in the Cape Test Test by scoring two half -centuries in the absence of Saim Ayub.”
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Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah and Saud Shakeel have also won withdrawals.
Pakistan has retired the all -terrain Faheem Ashraf, the power batter Khushdil Shah and the medium -sued shakeel baterator to the team. While Shakeel’s addition adds depth to the batting, Faheem’s selection will surely raise his eyebrows with the SUV that struggles to leave a mark in hate so far in his career.
Khushdil provides fire power in the medium order, while Saud’s adaptability makes it a valuable asset. But it is uncertain if it would fit an initial XI of full force.
These three inclusions only suggest that Pakistan is looking for a combination of experience and public service players to handle different parties situations.
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