It’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team: Mohammad Rizwan

Hosts Pakistan announced their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 on 31 January 2025. They had to make changes in their squad as their preferred opening batter, Saim Ayub termed unfit after twisting his ankle during the South Africa Test series. The team also made some bold choices in the form of Faheem Ashraf, who last played for the team in December 2023 and Khushdil Shah, who last represented the country in October 2023. 

Several former cricketers including the Pakistan pace luminary, Wasim Akram showed dissatisfaction over the bizarre selections. The pressure is palpable as things have not worked out for the team over the last two ICC events and Pakistan’s skipper Mohammad Rizwan has ruled out any aspects of discontentment regarding the 16-member squad. 

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“Look, the squad that has been announced is in front of everyone, and there’s no such thing that we will make changes to it. We have a match tomorrow, and we have three to four days, but it’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team or that we need to think about changes. If we talk about Faheem Ashraf, if you look at his performance over the last two years in List A cricket, his average is 46. we needed an all-rounder and the best choice for us was Faheem Ashraf,” said Rizwan as quoted by Dawn. 

The team has the cushion of having some star players in the form of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Rizwan himself. But most of the players in the squad will be playing their first-ever ICC event. 

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (c, wk), Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.