January 01, 2025
The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, known as the Mini World Cup, will be played in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19 to March 9, 2025.
The teams have started announcing their squads for the event. According to reports, the host and defending champion Pakistan team is likely to include 7 batsmen, 4 fast bowlers, 3 spinners and a wicketkeeper in its squad.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan will be the sole wicketkeeper in the ICC Champions Trophy. Usman Khan, who was included in the squad as the second wicketkeeper in the ODI series in South Africa, will not be able to secure a place in the Champions Trophy team.
Among the fast bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf can be joined by Mohammad Hasnain as the fourth fast bowler, while former vice-captain Test all-rounder Shadab Khan is likely to return to the national team as the third spinner in the squad along with Abrar Ahmed and Sufyan Muqim.
Shadab Khan was dropped from the national team after the T20 World Cup to be played in the United States and West Indies in June 2024. Shadab Khan was not selected in the Pakistan team for the tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, the Cricket Board has included Shadab Khan in the “C” category of the Central Contract 2024-25.
After being dropped from the team, Shadab Khan played 5 matches for the Panthers in the Champions One-Day Cup played at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, where he scored 120 runs and took 5 wickets in 192 balls. While in the Champions T20 Cup at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, Shadab Khan scored 24 runs in 6 matches and bowled only 18 balls.
29-year-old left-handed opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq, who has scored 3138 runs in 72 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan at an average of 48.27, is likely to make a comeback to the national team in the Champions Trophy.
Imam-ul-Haq played his last ODI against South Africa in the ICC World Cup on October 27, 2023. After being dropped from the team, Imam-ul-Haq scored 212 runs in 4 matches at an average of 53.00 in the Champions One-Day Cup, while in the Champions T20 tournament, he scored 256 runs in 9 matches for the Lions at an average of 36.67.
The aggressive opener Fakhar Zaman is also expected to return to the Champions Trophy squad. The 34-year-old left-hander, who has played 82 international ODIs for Pakistan, is subject to a central contract fitness by the Pakistan Cricket Board, and Fakhar Zaman, who has not been selected by the selectors for the tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Recently, in the Champions T20, Fakhar Zaman played brilliantly for Markhors, scoring 303 runs in 10 matches at an average of 30.30 with the help of 2 half-centuries
