Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who secured the ICC Champions Trophy for his country in the 2017 edition, recalled how the Men in Green regrouped with the help of seniors after a shock start to their campaign eight years back and the message that was communicated to the group ahead of the high-profile final against arch-rivals India. Pakistan delivered India one of its biggest cricketing jolts when they defeated the Men in Blue in the title clash at The Oval in 2017 by a thumping margin of 180 runs while defending 339 runs. This was Pakistan’s third major title in white-ball cricket, after the 50-over World Cup triumph in 1992 and the T20 World Cup win in 2009.
Unlike in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup or the Men’s T20 World Cup, where India has a significant advantage over Pakistan, the Men in Green have a 3-2 advantage against the latter in the Champions Trophy.
However, their 2017 campaign got off to a shocking start when they lost to a strong India side by 124 runs. Rohit Sharma (91), Shikhar Dhawan (68), and Virat Kohli (81) starred with the willow before the bowling attack finished the job.
Sarfaraz recalled how the side regrouped under the guidance of senior players like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, something he feels that the present Pakistan side will need too.
“Afterwards (following defeat to India in the group stage), we had a great team meeting, and some of our senior guys – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez – all said their piece. You need those types of characters around you. We changed our mindset from that day. The acrimony was very good for us, we made a couple of changes to the team and it helped our confidence,” said the former captain as quoted by ICC.
Pakistan turned it around after the loss to India, beating South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England on the way to the Finals.
While the addition of Fakhar Zaman, who debuted in the group stage game against South Africa, added solidity and firepower to the top, the likes of Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees gave Pakistan control and wickets with the new ball as they showed in the semi-final against England, which Pakistan won by eight wickets.
“We played England in the semi-finals and our bowlers were just superb,” Sarfaraz said. “Then, it was India in the final. I was just confident our level was very high and my message to the players ahead of the final was to relax.”
Pakistan had a dream day against their neighbouring rivals in the final, wherein Fakhar Zaman scored a brilliant century to guide them to a commanding total, before Mohammad Amir ran through the Indian top-order and set their historic win.
“We knew we had beaten some of the best teams, so India was nothing we had not seen,” Sarfaraz discussed the team’s mindset ahead of the contest.
“I told the guys to relax, forget the result and just give 100 per cent.”
“The rest is history. When the last wicket went down and we won, it is impossible to describe that feeling in words. When I took the last catch, I was at the gully. And I just ran. I saw Shoaib Malik and ran into his arms, I jumped into him and hugged him. The whole team then joined in. It was indescribable,” he concluded.
Pakistan begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against New Zealand on 19 February in Karachi and face-off against India on 23 February in Dubai.
The eight teams are divided into two groups for the tournament’s opening stage. Each team will play three group-stage matches, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Group A features Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand, while Group B includes Afghanistan, England, Australia, and South Africa.
Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Pakistan fixtures for Champions Trophy: Against New Zealand (February 19 at Karachi), India (February 23 at Dubai and Bangladesh (February 27 at Rawalpindi).
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