The Champions Trophy 2025 is just a month away now and the teams have started preparing their respective squads for the marquee ICC tournament. While all the teams have officially announced their squads, India and Pakistan are yet to do it.
According to the reports, Pakistan have submitted its list of preliminary players but will trim the squad down to 15 players by February 10. The Men in Green have opted to go for a young squad and it doesn’t have the experience of veteran wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed in it.
However, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has a new role for Sarfaraz Ahmed in the upcoming Champions Trophy. Basit wants Sarfaraz Ahmed to be appointed as the mentor and has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to take action soon.
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Basit Ali has a new role for Sarfaraz Ahmed
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali asked the PCB to learn from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and appoint a mentor for the Champions Trophy. He named Sarfaraz Ahmed for the role since he has the experience of beating India in the Champions Trophy 2017 final.
“Afghanistan appointed the great Younis Khan as mentor, who is a good choice. People in Pakistan must be sleeping, so is the board. They need a mentor against India, someone who won you the Champions Trophy the last time: Sarfaraz Ahmed,” Basit said.
“In this match, Sarfaraz’s suggestions will work. He has the experience of lifting the trophy against them. I won’t take anyone else’s name. He led the team to victory,” he added.
Under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan won the 2017 Champions Trophy after defeating arch-rivals India in the final. The Men in Green arrived into the final as underdogs but stunned India on the historic occasion.
Afghanistan rope in Younis Khan as a mentor
The ACB recently appointed the legendary Pakistan batter Younis Khan as Afghanistan’s mentor for the upcoming Champions Trophy to help the team get used to the local conditions. The ACB has previously picked players from the host nations as mentors for specific ICC tournaments.
In the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India, Ajay Jadeja was roped in as their mentor as Afghanistan registered historic wins over Pakistan and England in the tournament. Jadeja’s experience of local conditions helped the team get used to it.
In the T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan had Dwayne Bravo as their mentor as the tournament was held in the West Indies. Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of the tournament in their greatest-ever finish in a senior ICC event.
Champions Trophy 2025 schedule
The Champions Trophy 2025 will be played from February 19 to March 9. The big match between India and Pakistan will be played on February 23 in Dubai. India and Pakistan are in Group A alongside Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The other group includes England, Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan. The tournament will begin with hosts Pakistan facing New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi. India’s first match will be against Bangladesh on February 20.