The defending champion announced its 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Young opener Saim Ayub is set to miss the tournament due to an ankle injury.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced its 15-member squad for the ICC event. The right-handed batter Mohammad Rizwan will lead the Shaheens, with Salman Ali Agha acting as vice-captain. Pakistan will be hosting the first ICC tournament after 28 years since 1996. However, the tournament will be played in Pakistan and the UAE in a hybrid model, as India refused to visit Pakistan due to political reasons.
Pakistan will also bank on their formidable pace attack and have included four pacers in the squad: Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, and Naseem Shah.
Spinners are going to be a crucial factor in the championship, and Abrar Ahmed will be leading his side’s spin attack. He has proved his prowess by claiming 10 wickets in 4 ODIs with a best of 4/33.
PCB stated that it can make changes in the squad until February 11 as per the ICC rules. Pakistan has made four changes to the squad that secured a 3-0 victory against South Africa in their most recent ODI series. Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Irfan Khan, and left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem have been replaced by Ashraf, Fakhar, Khushdil Shah, and Saud Shakeel.
All-rounders Khushdil Shah and Faheem Ashraf and opener Fakhar Zaman have been included in the team. Khushdil was last seen playing in Rotterdam in 2022, Faheem in the 50-over Asia Cup in early 2023, and Fakhar Zaman during the 2024 World Cup in India. The 34-year-old Zaman’s inclusion was on the cards after Saim Ayub suffered an ankle injury.
Pakistan test vice-captain Shakeel has also returned to white-ball cricket after missing out on the game since the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023. The left-handed batter was ignored for the last three ODI series wins against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
For the opening, Pakistan goes with a completely different pairing, and Fakhar is likely to pair up with either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel for the same. Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, and Fakhar Zaman are the sole players remaining from the team that clinched the title at The Oval in 2017.
PCB selector Asad Shafiq said that the PCB adhered to its horses-for-courses approach when choosing the squad.
“Our focus has been on selecting players who have consistently excelled in domestic competitions under similar conditions, demonstrating their readiness to perform in a global event,” said Shafiq.
The squad will also play a Tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand, scheduled for February 8-14 in Karachi and Lahore.
Pakistan Squad for Champions Trophy 2025
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Kamran Ghulam, Khushdil Shah, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Muhammad Hasnain and Abrar Ahmed.
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