Srinagar: Pakistan openening batter Fakhar Zaman has backed Babar Azam to shine as an opener in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
PCB selector Asad Shafiq while expressing his thoughts at the time of the Pakistan team’s squad announcement, said that Fakhar Zaman’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel depending on the team combination, conditions and match strategy.
Fakhar revealed his thoughts during a PCB podcast by saying that, for a player like Babar’s calibre batting order did not matter.
“For a player like Babar Azam, batting number doesn’t matter, he is such a player that his class doesn’t let you down,” said Zaman.
”The range Babar has in ODIs makes cricket very easy for you, I hope Babar will perform very well,” he said.
Pakistan have been placed in Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 alongside India, New Zealand and Bangladesh.
Pakistan will begin their campaign with the tournament opener against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19.
They will then face India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23.
Moreover, Pakistan will play their third and final group match in Rawalpindi against Bangladesh on February 27.
Squad: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Usman Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.