Champions Trophy 2025: Aakash Chopra predicts Pakistan’s playing XI, omits Babar Azam as opener

Aakash Chopra, a former opener for India, has selected Pakistan’s likely starting lineup for the Champions Trophy. Chopra chose Saud Shakeel to open with Fakhar Zaman in instead of Babar Azam. In the recently finished tri-nation series between South Africa and New Zealand, Babar began for Pakistan but only managed 62 runs from three innings at an average of 20.67.

After Saim Ayub was ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to an injury, Pakistan has been searching for Fakhar’s opening partner. Despite Babar’s poor performance in the tri-series, Pakistan’s head coach Aqib Javed has endorsed him to open the innings in the major event. Chopra, however, recommended an alternative strategy in which Shakeel batted first. Additionally, Chopra thought that three players—Shakeel, Khushdil Shah, and Abrar Ahmed—would receive more attention.

What kind of XI do they predict? Since Saim Ayub isn’t there right now, I’m thinking about Saud Shakeel with Fakhar Zaman. Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed followed by Babar Azam at number three and Muhammad Rizwan at number four,” Chopra stated in a video posted to his YouTube channel.

“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,” he said.

Notably, Bangladesh, India, and New Zealand are all in Group A, along with Pakistan. Chopra predicted that the Green Shirts will go to the semi-finals, but he warned that they would need to defeat either India or New Zealand because Bangladesh might finish the group without a victory.

Their entire batting strategy should centre around Babar and Rizwan: Aakash Chopra

According to Aakash Chopra, Pakistan would assemble a side full of all-round players, with Babar and Muhammad Rizwan bearing the primary burden of scoring runs. According to the cricketer-turned-commentator, there is a direct correlation between Babar’s run total and Pakistan’s victory.

Their team gives the impression that they are looking for alternatives. They want a few all-rounders who can bowl spin and bat until No. 8 or No. 9, with Faheem Ashraf fulfilling both roles. Their entire batting strategy should centre on Babar and Rizwan. He stated, “Saud Shakeel will place in the top three this time, so I am very interested to see how he plays.”

They continue to rely heavily on Babar Azam, who has amassed 6000 ODI runs and is still playing at a high level. Pakistan’s victories and Babar Azam’s performances are closely related. Their batting constants are him and Muhammad Rizwan,” Chopra said.