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The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to commence on Wednesday, February 19 with the host nation, Pakistan taking on New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. As the Men in Green will begin their title defense against the Black Caps, their white-ball skipper, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan dropped a big hint on Pakistan’s opening pair.
Speaking on the eve of the tournament opener in Karachi, Rizwan reassured that former skipper and star batter Babar Azam will open for the side. It is to be noted that this statement from Rizwan came after reports in the media suggested that Saud Shakeel might open with Fakhar Zaman, but Rizwan finally put an end to it, saying that Babar Azam is “right man to open”.
Babar should open: Mohammad Rizwan ahead of CT 2025 opener
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the Pakistan skipper said, “It’s not that we don’t have options, we do have. But if you look at the conditions, Babar is the right man to open.” “We are not sure about reports of Babar not opening the batting. We want genuine openers, but given the needs of the team, we thought that Babar should open as he is a technically strong batter. He is our opener,” Rizwan added.
It is to be seen that Babar Azam hasn’t had a great outing while opening in the 50-over format. In five games, he has scored 88 runs at an average of 17.60. In the recently-concluded tri-nation series, Babar Azam amassed 62 runs.
Pakistan's squad for ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
