Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed believes that Mohammed Rizwan-led side has a “good chance” of defending their ICC Champions Trophy title in front of home fans. Under Sarfaraz’s leadership, Pakistan defeated India by 180 runs in the Champions Trophy final in 2017 at The Oval to lift the title for the first time. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter added that players from the title-winning side including Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman will be a key factor in their journey in the eight-team competition.
“Pakistan have a really good chance of defending that title and I think they have a strong team. Some of the boys from 2017 are still there and we’re talking about some of the best – especially Babar Azam,” ICC quoted Sarfaraz as saying.
“He is a different Babar to the one that played in 2017, a more mature player and a dominant player in the game. His batting will be so important for Pakistan and so will Fakhar Zaman’s.
With the ball, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are brilliant bowlers and are playing well. The captain, Mohammad Rizwan, is also a wicketkeeper-batter, which worked pretty well for me back in 2017,” he added.
Sarfaraz also admitted that Pakistan will have the added pressure of performing well against home fans.
“There will be pressure. Pakistan being at home, being the defending champions, there will be high expectations, but the fans will get behind them.
“It is a stacked field, of course, every team can win it. I think Afghanistan have a really strong team, Australia and India as well. Their spin options are so good and you will need that to succeed in these conditions,” the former Pakistan captain said.
Sarfaraz picked Pakistan, India, Australia and Afghanistan as his favourites for the semi-finals.
“If I had to pick four semi-finalists, I’d probably go for Pakistan, India, Australia and Afghanistan at this stage, but I would not rule anyone out,” he said.
The 37-year-old also shared his thoughts on the much-anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Dubai on February 23 and called it a special occasion.
“Of the pool matches, everyone will be talking about Pakistan’s match against India, and the game will be huge.
“Whenever we meet, it is a special occasion and there is so much hype and pressure around it. But as players, you need to stay calm, try and block that noise out and just play with the same intensity as you would play Australia or any other team,” Sarfaraz said.
Pakistan will begin their campaign against New Zealand in the tournament opener at National Stadium in Karachi on February 19.
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