Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif was not pleased with the team’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025. Latif slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and blamed them for political selection in the squad.
Pakistan announced their squad for the Champions Trophy on January 31 (Friday) just a few days before the start of the tournament. Pakistan were also the last among the all eight participating teams to announce their team for the tournament.
Also read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Gautam Gambhir openly threatens Pakistan ahead of IND vs PAK
Rashid Latif slams PCB for “political selection” in Pakistan squad
While speaking to Telecomeasia.net, Rashid Latif expressed his views on Pakistan’s squad selection for the Champions Trophy 2025. He questioned the selection of the allrounder Faheem Ashraf who last played an ODI way back in the Asia Cup 2023
“It seems a political selection. Faheem (Ashraf) has no recent performance to warrant a selection, and his record isn’t impressive,” Rashid Latif said.
Rashid Latif further said that Pakistan’s squad has players who haven’t played ODIs for quite some time. He left it upon the team’s captain Mohammad Rizwan to prepare a team that can win the tournament.
“This squad includes players like (Faheem) Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, and Saud Shakeel, who were not part of the system on the last three tours. Now, it is up to captain Mohammad Rizwan to select the best XI, just as Imran Khan did in 1992 and Younis Khan in 2009,” he added.
Faheem Ashraf’s dismal ODI numbers
Faheem Ashraf has played 34 ODIs so far and scored 224 runs at an average of just 10.66. The allrounder has picked up 25 wickets with the ball at an average of 39.64.
He has been out of Pakistan’s squad for a long time and it was surprising to see him back for a big tournament.
Fakhar Zaman returns to Pakistan squda for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman and Saud Shakeel also haven’t been part of the ODI team lately. Fakhar was dropped due to fitness issues and the post in which he criticized the PCB openly on social media.
Zaman has a good ODI record but his last match came way back in the World Cup 2023 against England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Interestingly, it is the last ODI match of Saud Shakeel as well.
The selection of Fakhar Zaman was expected due to the unavailability of Saim Ayub which ruled him out of the entire tournament. But Ashraf and Shakeel’s selection was far from expected.
Pakistan will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against New Zealand on February 19 at Karachi in the opening game of the tournament.
The Men in Green will then face arch-rivals India in Dubai before going to Rawalpindi to face Bangladesh on February 27. The Men in Green will enter the tournament as the defending champions.
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