5 reasons why Pakistan can win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy

#3 A reliable and experienced middle-order

Mohammad Hafeez’s experience will count in the tournament

The opening batsmen in a line-up are of prime importance to give their teams a flying start to their innings when the field is up in the powerplays. However, it’s the middle order batsmen from number three to five who inject solidity to the batting when the runs aren’t always easy to come by in the middle overs.

During Pakistan’s warm-up clash with Bangladesh, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik were sent in at number four and five respectively, and they didn’t disappoint one bit with scores of 49 and 72 respectively.

Though Babar Azam wasn’t able to fire against Bangladesh, his batting numbers in One Day Internationals speak about the class and flair of the man from Lahore and his prowess will be pivotal if Pakistan are to make the next stage.