Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has revealed his predicted Pakistan playing XI for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, making a notable choice to position Babar Azam at No. 3 in the batting order. Chopra shared his insights in a video on his YouTube channel, highlighting Pakistan’s strengths and potential strategies for the tournament, which is set to be played in Pakistan and Dubai starting February 19.
Aakash Chopra predicts Pakistan’s playing XI
Chopra’s predicted XI includes Saud Shakeel partnering with Fakhar Zaman as openers, followed by Babar at No. 3, Mohammad Rizwan at No. 4, and then Salman Ali Agha, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed. This selection sees Babar – who batted as an opener in the recent matches – moving down the order, with Saud Shakeel given an opportunity at the top.
“What will their predicted XI be like? I am thinking Saud Shakeel with Fakhar Zaman as Saim Ayub is not there now. Babar Azam at No. 3, Mohammad Rizwan at No. 4, and then Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed,” said Chopra.
Key observations
Babar Azam’s role: Chopra emphasized the importance of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan as the mainstays of Pakistan’s batting lineup. He noted that Pakistan’s success is closely linked to Babar’s performance, who has amassed more than 6,000 runs in ODIs at an impressive average.
“They are still reliant a lot on Babar Azam – 6000 ODI runs and the speed at which he has reached this far. Babar Azam’s performances and Pakistan’s wins are close-knit to each other. He and Mohammad Rizwan are their batting mainstays,” the ex-India opener added.
Saud Shakeel as opener: Chopra’s choice of Shakeel as opener is particularly noteworthy, suggesting a fresh approach to Pakistan’s top-order batting.
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All-rounders: Chopra believes Pakistan are aiming to play multiple all-rounders, desiring batting depth up to No. 8 or 9, along with spin-bowling all-rounders1. He expects their batting to revolve around Babar and Rizwan.
Players to watch
Chopra identified three players who would be under extra scrutiny during the Champions Trophy:
- Saud Shakeel: Fans want to see him play extensively.
- Khushdil Shah: To assess whether his T20 all-rounder capabilities translate to ODIs.
- Abrar Ahmed: As a slightly underrated player who many are yet to see or play against.
“There will be a little extra focus on three players – Saud Shakeel because we will properly see him playing for the first time, Khushdil Shah because he is a proven all-rounder in T20s, he has a golden arm as well, but can he do that job in ODIs, and Abrar Ahmed as he is slightly underrated and not many people have seen him or played against him,” the Delhi-lad added further.
Chopra also expects Pakistan to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025 if they perform to their potential. However, he added that to reach the knockouts, they would need to beat at least one of New Zealand and India, as he doesn’t expect Bangladesh to win a game against them.
