The Champions Trophy 2025 is just a month away and teams have started preparing their squads for the main ICC tournament. While all the teams have officially announced their squads, India and Pakistan are yet to do so.
According to reports, Pakistan have submitted their preliminary list of players but will trim the squad to 15 players by February 10. The men in green have opted for a young team and it does not have the experience of veteran goalkeeper 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 a mentor and urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to take action as soon as possible.
Also read: BCCI has issued a strict order to ban PR after the BGT Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli disaster
Basit Ali has a new role for Sarfaraz Ahmed
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali requested the PCB to learn from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and appoint a mentor for the Champions Trophy. He appointed Sarfaraz Ahmed for the role as he has the experience of beating India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
“Afghanistan appointed the great Younis Khan as a mentor, who is a good choice. People in Pakistan must be sleeping and so is the record. They need a mentor against India, someone who won you the Champions Trophy last time: Sarfaraz Ahmed,” said Basit.
“In this match, Sarfaraz’s suggestions will work. He has experience of lifting trophies against them. I will not take someone else’s name. He led the team to victory,” he added.
Led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan won the 2017 Champions Trophy after defeating arch-rivals India in the final. The men in green reached the final as underdogs but surprised India on a historic occasion.
Afghanistan rope in Younis Khan as a mentor
The ACB recently appointed Pakistan’s legendary batsman Younis Khan as Afghanistan’s mentor for the upcoming Champions Trophy to help the team acclimatise to the local conditions. The ACB previously selected players from the host countries as mentors for certain ICC tournaments.
In the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India, Ajay Jadeja was their mentor as Afghanistan registered historic wins over Pakistan and England in the tournament. Jadeja’s experience of the 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 best ever finish in a senior ICC competition.
Champions Trophy 2025 Schedule
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 along with Bangladesh and New Zealand.
The second group consists of England, Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan. The tournament will begin with hosts Pakistan and New Zealand on February 19 in Karachi. India will play their first match against Bangladesh on February 20.
