‘There’s no such thing that…’ - Skipper Mohammad Rizwan takes bold stance on Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan made a big statement while speaking about the team’s national squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Notably, Pakistan are taking on New Zealand in the ongoing home tri-series. Rizwan and Co. will aim to strengthen their preparations for the upcoming prestigious cricket quadrennial.

There have been a lot of discussions and statements among the former cricketers and game experts regarding the selection of Faheem Ashraf and Khusdil Shah in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad. 

It’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team - Mohammad Rizwan

Meanwhile, Rizwan defended the selection committee’s decision to pick Faheem Ashraf and Khusdil Shah in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad. For the record, Pakistan won three consecutive ODI series under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

“Look, the squad that has been announced is in front of everyone, and there’s no such thing as we will change it. We have a match tomorrow, and we have three to four days, but it’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team or that we need to think about changes,” said Rizwan before the first ODI against New Zealand in the ongoing Tri-Nation series.

“If we talk about Faheem Ashraf, if you look at his performance over the last two years in List A cricket, his average is 46. we needed an all-rounder and the best choice for us was Faheem Ashraf,” he added later.

Speaking of the current action of the game between Pakistan and New Zealand, the visiting skipper has won the toss and decided to bat first. The Blackcaps had scored 33 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in 6.5 overs, with Rachin Ravindra and former skipper, Kane Williamson there in the middle.

Here’s a look at Pakistan’s playing XI for the first tri-nation ODI against New Zealand: 

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (C&WK), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, and Naseem Shah.