ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Pakistan Squad: Faheem Ashraf In, Saim Ayub Out

The Pakistan Cricket Board has finally announced the Pakistan squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025. 

This 15-member squad has been carefully curated by the National Selection Committee while keeping in mind the playing conditions and players’ form. 

The biggest setback for the Men in Green is the exclusion of young opener Saim Ayub. Saim acquired an ankle fracture during the PAK vs SA test series. The youngster was ruled out of cricket for six weeks initially, but the PCB was hoping for his recovery to complete before the mighty Champions Trophy 2025. 

With squad announcement deadline looming over the PCB’s head and Saim’s medical reports not declaring full recovery, the selection committee had to exclude him from the final Pakistan squad despite including him in the preliminary squad. 

"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," Asad Shafiq, a member of the National Selection Committee explained.

Another most talked about aspect of this lineup has been the inclusion of Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah in the squad. 

Both of these players have not been a part of Pakistan’s national team for a really long time and will be making a comeback directly on the Mega Champions Trophy 2025 stage. 

As per the selectors, both Faheem and Shah have been selected based on their recent performances in the Bangladesh Premier League. 

Pakistan’s former bowling sensation, Wasim Akram, was surprised by Faheem Ashraf’s inclusion. “I wish him all the best, he’s a talented cricketer,” Akram said, “But in the past 20 matches, his bowling average is 100, and his batting average is 9. ”

On the other hand, Khushdil Shah has never been a stellar performer and to expect him to step up his game at a stage as grand as the Champions Trophy is a bit unrealistic to say the least. 

Pakistan squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

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.