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Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf are back in the Pakistan team for the Champions Trophy
Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf are back in the Pakistan team for the Champions Trophy
Pakistan’s test vice-captain Shakeel also returned to white-ball cricket after having last played at the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023.
For the Champions Trophy, Fakhar Zaman has been added to the squad of Pakistan, making his comeback after a disagreement with the PCB over a social media post in October 2024. PCB called their squad “Horses for Courses” in which Faheem Ashraf has been called up, who played in his last international cricket match in 2023. Saud Shakeel and Khushdil Shah have also been added to the group. This squad is also going to play for the ODI tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand that have been made up for the Champion Trophy.
The squad's announcement confirms what many in Pakistan feared would happen: Saim Ayub is not going to be available because of his ankle fracture that happened at the time of the Cape Town Test. At that time, it was announced that he was going to be out for six weeks, but now his chances to be recovering till the Champions Trophy are minor.
Abdullah Shafique's poor form led to him being dropped from the squad. In the recent ODI series against South Africa, which Pakistan won 3-0, he made history by being dismissed for a duck in every match of the series. This means Pakistan will have a completely new opening pair, with Fakhar Zaman likely to team up with either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel. The PCB mentioned Babar's success as an opener in Test cricket as a reason for this potential change.
For the opening partnering with the Fakhar, there are two possible players who are Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel but it will totally depend on factors such as opposition, conditions and match strategy said Asad Shafiq, a member of the selection panel.
Both players are very capable at the top of the order. Babar is especially experienced in this role, regularly opening in T20Is and performing well in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries when Saim Ayub was absent.
The squad maintains its pace-heavy approach, which helped Pakistan win three consecutive away ODI series at the end of last year. The final 15 include Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Hasnain, with Abrar Ahmed as the only specialist spinner. Neither Sufiyan Muqeem, who took four wickets on his debut in his only ODI match, nor Shadab Khan, who led his team to victory in the Champions Cup in September, made the final selection.
"Asad Shafiq, a member of the selection panel, mentioned that one of the key qualities of this team is its flexibility, which is essential in modern cricket. He expressed confidence that the squad strikes a perfect balance between youth and experience, covering all bases. Each player has been selected with a specific role in mind, providing the captain with versatile options."
Irfan Khan, who was considered a crucial part of Pakistan's middle order and praised for his fielding, was also left out. Faheem returns after limited ODI cricket and an average Champions Cup in September. However, his strong batting performances in the President Cup in October played a role in earning him an unexpected recall.
Pakistan's first game at the Champions Trophy is against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19. They will then travel to Dubai to play against India and finish their group stage against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.
Pakistan squad:
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Kamran Ghulam, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Khushdil Shah, Ashraf, Salman Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
India squad:
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja.
Bangladesh squad:
Soumya Sarkar, Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Tawhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Jaker Ali Anik, MD Mahmud Ullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Parvez Hossai Emon, Nahid Rana, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
New Zealand squad:
Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Ben Sears, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Nathan Smith, Will Young
Afghanistan squad:
Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran.
England squad:
Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler (c), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jamie Overton, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Adil Rashid, Liam Livingstone, Joe Root, Phil Salt, Saqib Mahmood, Mark Wood.
Australia squad:
Adam Zampa, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Matt Short, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa (Mitchell Marsh's replacement not announced yet).
South Africa squad:
Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen (Anrich Nortje's replacement not announced yet).
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