Pakistan are gearing up to host the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, which is returning to the International Cricket Council (ICC) calendar for the first time since 2017, when Pakistan won the trophy by beating archrivals India in the final.
Preparing to defend their title, the Pakistan squad is undergoing a training camp and played an intra-squad match on Tuesday, where team's premier pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed team's former captain Babar Azam for a duck.
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Before the Champions Trophy, Pakistan will play a tri-series with New Zealand and South Africa from February 8 to 14 in Lahore and Karachi. The two venues, along with Rawalpindi, will host the Champions Trophy matches.
India, however, will play all their matches in Dubai as an agreement between the ICC, Pakistan Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket India after their refusal to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the tournament.
Mohammad Rizwan will lead Pakistan, continuing in the role since Babar Azam stepped down as captain following the ODI World Cup in 2023. .
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Promising young batter Saim Ayub is a notable omission, sidelined by an ankle injury sustained during the Cape Town Test on Pakistan's tour of South Africa.
Top-order batter Abdullah Shafique has also been left out.
Opener Fakhar Zaman returns to the squad. He played a pivotal role in Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy triumph, hitting 114 runs off 106 balls in the victory over India in the final.
Pakistan squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
