Aakash Chopra highlights Pakistan's strength ahead of Champions Trophy
What's the story
Former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, has highlighted Pakistan's strength in One Day International (ODI) cricket as a major advantage for the 2025 Champions Trophy. He revealed his thoughts on his YouTube channel, adding that Pakistan's team is especially strong in this format. The tournament will be held in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 onward. Here are further details.
Team assessment
Chopra's analysis of Pakistan's team composition
Chopra further analyzed the composition of Pakistan's team, saying they are primarily an ODI team. He observed their struggles in Tests and T20s with a batting order not suited for the formats. "They are not a team that does well in Tests, where they rely a lot on their spinners and win at home only," Chopra said.
Player performance
Chopra praises Pakistan's ODI performance
Chopra also lauded the performances of Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan in ODIs. He emphasized that Babar has scored more than 6,000 runs at an average of 55.73 in 123 ODI innings. Rizwan and Zaman also have an average in the forties in this format. "When I look at their batting...the best of them comes out in ODIs," Chopra added.
Home advantage
Chopra highlights Pakistan's home advantage in Champions Trophy
Chopra also highlighted Pakistan's knowledge of local conditions as a major plus for the 2025 Champions Trophy. "They know the conditions better than anybody else and that is a huge strength," he said. He also mentioned their recent successful ODI series against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa as proof of their good form going into the tournament.