Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes that India can easily beat Mohammad Rizwan-led side in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 clash. He also takes a jibe at Pakistan's economy saying that If the Men in Green will lose one-sided against India, now the fans will not thrash their TV sets because of the country’s economic situation.
India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 clash will take place on February 23 at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
“Agar one-sided hota hai, toh ab TV bhi nahi tootenge kyunki Pakistan mei mehangai bahut zyada hai. Ab zabaan se hi har cheez hogi (If Pakistan will lose one-sided against India, now the fans will not thrash their TV sets because of country’s economic situation. Now there will be only voiced opinion,” Basit Ali, who has played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan said on his Youtube Channel.
Basit admits that if Pakistan won the clash against India then it would be a big upset in the tournament.
“India are favourites. There is no doubt about that. In my opinion, if Pakistan manage to beat India, it will be an upset because our cricket has gone down and is at all time low,” he said.
Basit also pointed out the issues in Pakistan's Champions Trophy 2025 squad.
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“Who will bat at No 3, nobody knows. They might ask Usman Khan to open with Imam and bring Babar Azam at No 3,” he said.
“Fakhar Zaman is out. Now Pakistan’s batting line-up from number one to five similar. If there car is running in the third gear, then it will stay in the third gear. ut won’t be able to switch into turbo mode in the last five or 10 overs,” he added.
India are coming after winning their first league match against Bangladesh by six wickets. On the other hand, Champions Trophy hosts Pakistan have lost their opener clash against New Zealand by 60 runs in Karachi.
“Pakistan should now play cricket with bat and brain, not with the mouth,” said Basit.
The 54-year-old also took a sly dig at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s effort to renovate the stadiums instead of building a strong team.
“The amount of money they spent in building the stadiums, they could have built a good team in half of that amount.
“But to build a team you need intelligence. What is your vision? What’s your thinking? How do you view a player’s talent? These are the important things.”
India vs Pakistan ODI head-to-head
India and Pakistan have played 135 ODIs against each other where Pakistan holds the edge by winning 73 clashes and India won 57 matches. The last time India and Pakistan faced each other was during the ODI World Cup 2023 where Rohit Sharma-led India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets.