Pakistan is all set to host the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to begin on  February 19 and end on March 9, 2025.

 

The names of all players for the mega event have come to light.

 

The ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy will be played in Pakistan and the UAE. 

 

According to media reports, the squad of defending champions and hosts Pakistan is likely to include seven batters, four fast bowlers, three spinners and a wicketkeeper.

 

Captain Muhammad Rizwan will be the sole wicketkeeper in the event, and Usman Khan, who was included in the squad as the second wicketkeeper in the ODI series in South Africa, will likely not be able to get a place on the team.

 

Among the fast bowlers, Muhammad Hasnain can be the fourth fast bowler along with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, while former vice-captain Test all-rounder Shadab Khan is likely to return to the national team as the third spinner in the squad along with Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem.

 

After being dropped from the team, Shadab Khan played five matches for the Panthers in the Champions One Day Cup, where he scored 120 runs and took five wickets. In the Champions T20 Cup at Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi, Shadab Khan scored 24 runs in 6 matches and bowled only 18 balls.

 

29-year-old left-handed opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq, who has scored 3138 runs in 72 international One Day matches for Pakistan at an average of 48.27, is likely to make a comeback to the national team in the Champions Trophy.

 

The Champions Trophy squad also includes the return of aggressive opener Fakhar Zaman. The 34-year-old left-handed batsman has played 82 ODIs for Pakistan and is subject to a central contract fitness by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The selectors did not select him for the tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

 

Fakhar Zaman recently played for the Markhors in the Champions T20, scoring 303 runs in 10 matches at an average of 30.30 with the help of 2 half-centuries.

Probable names for Champions Trophy 2025:

Muhammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Shadab Khan, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Haris Rauf, Muhammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afrid, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem.