The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday, introduced the highly-anticipated squad for the tri-nation form and ICC Males’s Champions Trophy 2025, that includes just one specialist opener, Fakhar Zaman.
Fakhar, who returned to the ODI group next the ICC Males’s Cricket International Cup 2023 in Republic of India, faces the void as his fellow opener Saim Ayub ignored out at the variety because of an ankle shock, week Abdullah Shafique did not build a shorten, owing to his fresh below-par performances.
In the meantime, nationwide selector Asad Shafiq, in a PCB-released observation, addressed the fear and clear famous person batter Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel as Fakhar’s doable opening companions for the eight-team event.
Shafiq additional shared that Fakhar’s opening spouse can be decided on next analysing numerous elements together with situations, opposition and fit technique.
“Fakhar Zaman’s return is a significant boost for our top-order. His aggressive approach and match-winning capabilities are vital to our plans,” mentioned Shafiq.
“Likewise, Saud Shakeel has been drafted to additional bolster the batting and capitalise on his affluent prosperous vein of method in Check cricket, specifically in house situations. Additionally, he’s an skilled, clever and calculated batter who constructs his innings thoughtfully and excels at construction partnerships.
“Fakhar’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on various factors such as conditions, opposition and match strategy. Both players are highly capable at the top of the order, with Babar being particularly seasoned in the role, regularly opening in T20Is and also excelling in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries in Saim Ayub’s absence.”
Pakistan squad for tri-nation form and Champions Trophy 2025:
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
