- Babar Azam will open the batting with Fakhar Zaman in the Champions Trophy 2025
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Pakistan is the only team that hasn't revealed their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 yet, but there are already talks about who might be in the team for the big tournament. According to Qadir Khawaja, a reporter from Samaa TV, Babar Azam is expected to move up in the batting
order and will probably open the innings with Fakhar Zaman, who is making a comeback.
The reports also said that Saim Ayub, who has an ankle injury, will likely miss the tournament. Because of this, the team is thinking about changing the batting order. Babar has opened in T20Is before and recently opened in the Test series against South Africa. But in ODIs, he has played his best cricket when batting at number 3 or 4.
Babar will start the batting with Fakhar, and Kamran Ghulam is expected to bat at number 3. Pakistan wants a strong top 3 for the Champions Trophy. Reports say Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood are also backup options for the opening position.
No Abdullah Shafique? Is Khushdil Shah included?
Abdullah Shafique had a tough 2024 in white-ball cricket, and the Pakistan selectors are likely to leave him out of the Champions Trophy squad. The team wants their openers to score more runs, and Babar Azam brings stability that Shafique doesn't offer.
Meanwhile, Khushdil Shah, an all-rounder who hasn't been in the spotlight lately, is expected to make the Pakistan team for the big event. He adds power to the middle-order, which is something the team is missing right now.
Besides these changes, the main group of players in the team will stay the same. Babar, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf will continue to be the key players. They will aim to protect their Champions Trophy title.
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