Champions Trophy 2025: Sarfaraz Ahmed reveals story behind MS Dhoni's viral photo with his son

The coveted Champions Trophy 2025 is knocking on the door and fans are eager to watch some sumptuous rivalries between the teams. One such match is India versus Pakistan, which is often considered the "mother of all rivalries.'

The high-octane clash will take place on February 23, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai. This will be the sixth Champions Trophy match between the two teams. Though there are always some heated moments on the field featuring these two Asian international giants, there are also some fascinating insights where players reveal some lesser-known behind-the-scenes and relations between the players from across the border.

In the same regard, the former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed also brought up a conversation he had with India legend MS Dhoni before the Champions Trophy 2017 final. At that point, Ahmed was spending time with his family and friends, especially his then-three-month-old son, Abdullah Ahmed.

“The moment happened when his family friends were visiting, and Dhoni happened to come downstairs. He thought it would be a perfect opportunity to capture the moment with his three-month-old son,” Ahmed told Cricket Pakistan.

“I had a long conversation with Dhoni about wicketkeeping and cricket in general. I asked him how he managed to balance his roles as a wicketkeeper, batsman, and captain. The tips Dhoni shared with me were immensely helpful. He was very humble and generous in offering his advice,” the former Champions Trophy winner added.

Sarfaraz on the relationship between India and Pakistan players

Furthermore, Sarfaraz Ahmed also opened up on the relationship between the rival nation players as well saying despite the lack of bilateral series which might have affected the interactions a bit there is still mutual respect between the players and also named a few legends who still seem to have good relations with each other.

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“While the lack of bilateral series has affected interactions to some extent, the matches that do take place, especially back-to-back encounters, have led to improved relations,” he continued.

“Whenever Indian and Pakistani players meet, there is always mutual respect and friendship, after matches it’s not uncommon to see players like Shoaib Malik, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and others sitting together, chatting and enjoying each other’s company,” Ahmed concluded.