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The highly-anticipated match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is all set to be played on Sunday, February 23. Known as the “mother of all battles”, defending champions and hosts of CT 2025, Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India in the crucial match on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. While the Men in Blue are coming after a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh, Pakistan suffered a 60-run drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in Karachi.
With the upcoming match being a do-or-die fixture for the Men in Green, former Pakistan cricketer Basit launched a scathing attack on the hosts while speaking of the upcoming clash. He also took a direct jibe at Pakistan’s economy while calling India as “favourites” to come out on top in the match.
It’s a final for Pakistan: Basit Ali ahead of PAK vs IND CT 2025 clash
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan cricketer called it a “final” for the Men in Green, while he opted India as his “favourites”. “It is a ‘final’ for Pakistan. India are heavy favourites. If Pakistan win, it will be an upset in my view because Pakistan’s cricket has gone down, hit a low,” he said. The former cricketer also recalled the situation from the past where Pakistan fans broke their televisions after defeat while adding that instances like these can’t happen now.
“Agar one-sided hota hai, toh ab TV bhi nahi tootenge kyuki Pakistan mei mehangai boht zyada hai. Ab zabaan se hi har cheez hogi (If Pakistan lose one-sided, now fans won’t break TV sets because of the country’s economic situation; now there will be only voiced opinions),” Basit Ali continued while taking a jibe at the Pakistan economy.
Speaking in the same show, the 54-year-old also pointed out some key concern areas in the current Pakistan squad which has been picked for the marquee tournament. "Who will bat at No. 3, nobody knows. They might ask Usman Khan to open with Imam and bring Babar (Azam) at No. 3. Something needs to be done," Basit added.
"Fakhar Zaman is out. Now Pakistan's batting line-up from number one to five is similar and there is no scope to swap positions. It's true. If their car is running in third gear, then it will stay in third gear. It won't be able to switch to turbo, maybe in the last 5 or 10 overs, maybe," the former cricketer added.
