On Wednesday at the National Stadium in Karachi, host country Pakistan and New Zealand open the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy; both sides want to set an early benchmark for the cricket event.
Second favorites for the tournament are Pakistan, behind India, but they lost their last warm-up game against New Zealand on Friday to draw more attention to this match. Australia, the 2023 Cricket World Cup champions, are also a team to challenge, but Al Jazeera closely examines the Karachi curtain-raiser between two teams hoping to be lifting the trophy on March 9.
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Why are Pakistan’s defending champions not the faves?
After defeating India in the championship final in 2017, Pakistan raised the last edition of the trophy; nevertheless, based on their consistency since then, the defeated finalists are the tournament favorites.
Former captains Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are among Pakistan’s key match-winning players; yet, the country’s capacity to implode at any point in any game or series has earned them a reputation already.
Neither is the off-field turbulence helpful. Last year Gary Kirsten was hired as white-ball coach; he soon left and was replaced by test-match coach Jason Gillespie. Both Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie appeared to be well-liked by the players, and the former Australian bowler quickly replaced his South African predecessor.
New Zealand’s prospects at the Champions Trophy
New Zealand, who raised the Champions Trophy in 2000, lost to finalists in the Cricket World Cup final and cannot be written off at big events. Though they lack the population of any of the other big teams at the tournament and beyond, the Kiwis constantly produce talent that shines on the international scene and in domestic contests all around.
Given their current ranking of fourth in the world, the Kiwis must be regarded as major players. But topping the two favorites, World Cup-holders Australia, and defeating their 2019 conquerors, England, will be a challenge.
When was the last big tournament Pakistan hosted?
Following the attack on the bus of the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, which injured six players, international cricket in Pakistan has been tightly curtailed in recent years. Top teams avoided Pakistan following the attack, and the Champions Trophy marks the first big international event the nation has hosted in almost thirty years.
What remarks has captain Mohammad Rizwan from Pakistan made?
“Pakistan has suffered enough and for a long time; but we have also won during this phase, like the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup,” Rizwan said in a Tuesday news conference.
“A global event has come to Pakistan after 29 years, so I think the whole country should enjoy this historic occasion. “Our performance ought not to raise any questions. We may have struggled in the warm-up games, but everyone wants to win for the nation and people.
Pakistan squad
Muhammad Rizwan, captain; Salman Ali Agha, vice captain; Babar Azam; Fakhar Zaman; Kamran Ghulam; Saud Shakeel; Tayyab Tahir; Faheem Ashraf; Khushdil Shah; Usman Khan; Abrar Ahmed; Haris Rauf; Mohammad Hasnain; Naseem Shah; Shaheen Shah Afridi.
New Zealand squad
Mitchell Santner, captain; Michael Bracewell; Mark Chapman; Devon Conway; Matt Henry; Kyle Jamieson; Tom Latham; Daryl Mitchell; Will O’Rourke; Glenn Phillips; Rachin Ravindra; Ben Sears; Nathan Smith; Kane Williamson; Will Young.
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