The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is solely across the nook, with each and every crew hoping to hit the bottom operating when the eight-team match starts from February 19. One such crew that will be the cynosure of everybody’s eyes might be host Pakistan, captained through Mohammad Rizwan. They input the contest as protecting champions, after successful the closing version held in 2017 in England. However do they form up as one of the crucial sturdy contenders to win the identify? Here is a SWOT research from IANS of the Pakistan crew this is set to start out their marketing campaign with the match opener towards New Zealand.
Power: Pakistan possess avid gamers who can also be game-changers on a specific day. Fakhar Zaman, again within the ODI crew after the 2023 International Cup, can alternate the sport round in a couple of minutes. If Babar Azam discovers his just right shape, then Pakistan will without a doubt be ok with posting an enormous overall.
Skipper Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha are in nice contact which augurs neatly for Pakistan. Their pace-heavy assault comprising Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf (if are compatible for the match) and Mohammad Hasnain provides the reliability and successful issue to the crew.
Weak point: With Saim Ayub out because of an ankle fracture and Abdullah Shafique disregarded because of deficient shape, Pakistan have a new-look opening mixture with Fakhar and Babar, which hasn’t fired to this point. With the primary ten overs being a very powerful to submit a large overall, the Fakhar-Babar opening mixture is a susceptible hyperlink.
Additionally, Pakistan left everybody baffled through selecting one specialist spinner in Abrar Ahmed, who’s injury-prone. With neither Sufiyan Muqeem nor Shadab Khan picked, it way Pakistan’s squad steadiness is somewhat off. The decrease order of Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah is every other susceptible hyperlink as they have not accomplished the rest considerable on the global degree.
Alternative: Pakistan closing hosted a multi-nation cricket match when the 1996 International Cup was once on, together with the overall held in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Now 29 years later, Pakistan are again to being the host for an ICC match by the use of the go back of the Champions Trophy.
Despite the fact that Pakistan will host 11 out of 15 fits in its 3 renovated venues in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, it’s nonetheless a substantial success for a rustic who hasn’t hosted big-ticket wearing occasions because of violent acts, particularly the March 2009 assault at the Sri Lankan Take a look at crew.
If Pakistan step up in each on and off-field actions all the way through the Champions Trophy, it could pave the best way for extra wearing occasions to come back its approach in a rustic which has been struggling with financial and political instability.
Danger: Because the hosts’ of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s performances might be carefully watched through folks at house and in every single place the sector. Whilst groups can thrive below this force, it could additionally lead them to collapse below it and make an early go out from the contest. With Pakistan sporting that unpredictable tag, it way their performances can cross both approach and that is the reason a large danger for them.
(With the exception of for the headline, this tale has now not been edited through NDTV group of workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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