Former Pakistani national cricket team player Shoaib Akhtar has named his semi-finalists for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. What caught the attention of many was that he did not name England or Australia and named Afghanistan along with India and Pakistan.
Now less than two weeks are left for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to begin. The eight-nation tournament will be played from February 19, with the Pakistan national cricket team taking on the New Zealand national cricket team in the first match of the tournament at the Karachi Stadium.
All the eight teams for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 have been announced as strong squads and given the form of everyone, it is expected to be an exciting tournament, which will be played for the first time since 2017, in which the Pakistan National Cricket emerged as the winner.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be played across four venues in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Dubai, where India’s national cricket team will play its matches. With the tournament coming closer, predictions for the event have started pouring in.
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If the Afghanistan team shows maturity during the event, they can reach the semi-finals – Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar said that if the Afghanistan national cricket team plays with maturity, they will reach the semi-finals.
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He added that along with them, India and Pakistan will also reach the knockouts. Notably, he did not name the fourth team. Speaking to the media, he said: “If the Afghanistan team shows maturity during the event, they can make it to the semi-finals. I believe Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan will reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Champions Trophy.”
Shoaib Akhtar also made his prediction for India vs Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He backed the Mohammad Rizwan-led side to win the game and also backed both teams to reach the final of the tournament. He said: “I hope Pakistan will beat India on February 23. In fact, I believe both Pakistan and India should clash in the final of the tournament as well.”
India and Pakistan will face off in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on February 23. This will be the first time the two teams will play against each other since the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where the Rohit Sharma-led side emerged as the winners. Both teams have been engaged in thrilling encounters for the last few years and they are expected to play high-quality cricket this time too.
The India national cricket team won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and after that, the Pakistan national cricket team won the tournament in 2017. It remains to be seen if one of them wins this time or we get to see some other team crowned as the Champions. There will be more such predictions until the star and end of the tournament.