
Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali made an unusual prediction for Babar Azam ahead of the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy at home. The defending champions Pakistan have started gearing up for the upcoming tournament and will be looking to clinch the second back-to-back title in front of their home crowd. Along with that, star batter from the country Babar is also expected to get big runs in the highly anticipated 50-over tournament starting on February 19.
Notably, Babar Azam is likely to open the innings for Pakistan along with Fakhar Zaman in the 2025 Champions Trophy. However, Basit Ali came up with a strange prediction about what excuse will Babar give if he fails to score big in the tournament. “Babar's place in the team will remain unaffected, irrespective of his performance in the Champions Trophy. I hope Babar performs. If he performs, he will say I played for Pakistan. If he doesn't perform, he will say I was forcefully made to open,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Ask Babar to open: Wasim Akram’s advice to Pakistan Cricket Team ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy
Talking about Babar Azam, former Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram has also advised the team management to go with Babar as an opener for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Apart from that, Akram also opined that skipper Mohammad Rizwan should play in the middle-order as it will provide balance to the Pakistani batting lineup.
“I would like to see [Mohammad] Rizwan as a middle-order batter and maybe ask Babar to open the innings. Babar has a brilliant technique. If he plays 50 overs and scores a hundred, the batting will revolve around him,” Wasim Akram was quoted as saying by Cricket Times.
Pakistan’s squad for 2025 Champions Trophy:
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah