Pakistan announce squad for Champions Trophy 2025

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB has recalled Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah in the 15-member squad.

"The selectors have continued to adopt a horses-for-courses approach in assembling this squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Our focus has been on selecting players who have consistently excelled in domestic competitions under similar conditions, demonstrating their readiness to perform in a global event," national selector Asad Shafiq said.

There are four changes to the squad that played the last ODI series against South Africa. Abdullah Shafique, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub and Sufyan Moqim have made way for the above-mentioned quartet. Notably, this will be the same squad for the tri-series featuring New Zealand and South Africa.

The squad features Abrar Ahmed as the only specialist spinner alongside all-rounders Khushdil Shah and vice-captain Agha Ali Salman. “The inclusion of emerging players like mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and middle-order batters Kamran Ghulam and Tayyab Tahir reflects our confidence in their ability to translate domestic success into international impact. These players have shown the temperament and skill to thrive in challenging environments and have a deep understanding of



home conditions," the selector said.

Meanwhile, the PCB has confirmed that either Babar or Saud will partner with Fakhar at the top depending on the conditions. Babar has opened only twice, both in 2015. "Fakhar’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on various factors such as conditions, opposition and match strategy. Both players are highly capable at the top of the order, with Babar being particularly seasoned in the role, regularly opening in T20Is and also excelling in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries in Saim Ayub’s absence, " Asad said. 

"Saim Ayub has not been included in the squad due to an ankle injury, but we remain optimistic about his recovery. We understand how much he was looking forward to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and recognise how devastating it must be for him to miss a global event, especially when he is in such exceptional batting form. However, as a valuable asset to our team, we are committed to prioritising his long-term health over making any rushed decisions," he said.

Pakistan's squad: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi