Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that the current India team does not play under any pressure against Pakistan as the arch-rivals set to lock horns against each other for their second league match of the Champions Trophy 2025. India and Pakistan will face each other at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on February 23.
The upcoming clash will be the sixth time that the two teams will play each other in a Champions Trophy game. Their last outing against each other in the marquee event was during the 2017 Champions Trophy final where the Men in Green won by 180 runs to win the title.
Ashwin believes that during the India vs Pakistan clash, India did not take any pressure as compared to Pakistan.
“At present, whenever India and Pakistan play against each other, the Indian team is not under that much pressure as compared to what Pakistan team experiences. The Indian team is much more relaxed when there is a match against Pakistan at present. The Pakistan team is under much more pressure and it is visible as one sees their players. It seems that they are playing under a lot of pressure."
He further believes that Mohammad Rizwan-led Pakistan has the quality. If everything goes in their favour they can defeat India.
It’s a bit sad but I think this Pakistan team has the quality and they can do something. If it’s their day, they can outperform India,” said Ashwin on his Youtube channel Ash ki Baat.
Ashwin also believes that the Rohit Sharma-led Team India is a champion material team and this team got the meat to win the Champions Trophy.
“This Indian team is a champion material team. I only have my reservations about five spinners in the squad. This is the team that has got the meat to be champions and there is a chance to win an ICC tournament for the second consecutive time. “It’s an early call. But I feel that if India wins the toss twice in Dubai, then India or New Zealand playing in the final is the highest. This is an early call but I think India will be in the final. My four qualifying teams will be India, New Zealand, New Zealand and South Africa. Afghanistan has got an outside chance. Champions Trophy has always seen surprises,” concluded Ashwin.
Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to start from February 19 and the mega event will take place in a hybrid model. Matches featuring India and one of the semifinals will take place in Dubai and the rest of the matches will take place in Pakistan's Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.