Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh said that Pakistan is during their high-profile ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against India, saying that they’ve played a whole lot of cricket in Dubai and understand the conditions very well. Unlike the 50-over and T20 World Cups, Pakistan has a 3-2 advantage over India within the Champions Trophy, having secured a 180-run triumph within the 2017 final through the peak of star India batter Virat Kohli where no goal was an excessive amount of for his men. They might be heading to Dubai with loads of momentum.
Speaking ahead of the match, Yuvraj said on JioHotstar’s ‘Best Rivalry Returns’ programme, “I actually think Pakistan has a bonus because they’ve a base in Dubai. They’ve played a whole lot of cricket there and understand the conditions well.”
Yuvraj said that on slower wickets, India and Pakistani players are amongst the very best, “who’ve at all times played spin well”. He also talked about how the rivalry is as much about playing the moment and adaptation because it is concerning the match-winners in each teams.
“You discuss match-winners–yes, I agree with Shahid Afridi that we now have more match-winners. But I imagine that even when Pakistan has fewer match-winners, one player can still take the sport away. The India-Pakistan clash just isn’t about match-winners alone; it’s about playing within the moment, adapting to the situation, and never letting expectations overwhelm you. The team that does this higher will win the sport for his or her country,” he concluded.
India squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, 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.
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