(Asghar Ali Mubarak)
ISLAMABAD (TNS) The 15-member Pakistan cricket team has been announced for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, with Fakhar Zaman Khushdil Shah, Saud Shakeel and Faheem Ashraf returning to the team. The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9. The PCB has time until February 11 to make changes to the squad, after which changes will be allowed only with the approval of the ICC Event Technical Committee on medical grounds. Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah and Saud Shakeel have been included in the team in place of Abdullah Shafiq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub and Sufyan Muqeem. The team includes 5 batsmen, three all-rounders, 2 wicketkeeper-batsmen, a spinner and 4 fast bowlers.
It should be noted that Fakhar Zaman scored a century against India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final. He has been away from international cricket due to illness and injury since June 2024. He last played a T20 International against Ireland in June 2024, but his last ODI was against England in November 2023.
Fakhar Zaman performed well during the Champions T20 Cup 2024 in December and scored the third-highest runs with 303 runs at an impressive strike rate of over 132.
Faheem Ashraf played his 34th and final ODI in September 2023, while Khushdil Shah last represented Pakistan in an ODI in August 2022.
It should be noted that on December 24, 2024, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy to be hosted by Pakistan under a hybrid model.
The Champions Trophy 2025 matches will be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, the event will begin in Karachi on February 19 and end on March 9. The opening match will be between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi on February 19, while the traditional rivals Pakistan and India will face each other in Dubai on February 23.
The same team will also participate in the tri-nation ODI series to be held in Karachi and Lahore before the Champions Trophy, which includes New Zealand and South Africa. Four changes have been made to the 15-member squad, which last played an ODI series in South Africa last year.
Pakistan’s squad consists of these players: Muhammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
