“It’s not necessary that we are unhappy” - Mohammad Rizwan’s huge statement on Pakistan squad for 2025 Champions Trophy

Pakistan’s limited-overs skipper Mohammed Rizwan has finally broken his silence over squad selection for the ICC Champions Trophy ahead of the tri-nation series involving New Zealand and South Africa. The wicketkeeper-batter backed Faheem Ashraf and Khusdil Shah for their selection in the preliminary squad but shocked everyone, saying that it’s not significant whether they are ‘unhappy’ with the team selections.

The remarks came amid criticism over the selection of the above duo (Ashraf and Shah), particularly Ashraf in the ODI squad.

Rizwan led Pakistan to three consecutive ODI series wins against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa last year.

Ahead of the first ODI of the tri-series against New Zealand, Rizwan said (via Dawn):

“Look, the squad that has been announced is in front of everyone, and there’s no such thing that we will make changes to it. We have a match tomorrow, and we have three to four days, but it’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team or that we need to think about changes.”

“If we talk about Faheem Ashraf, if you look at his performance over the last two years in List A cricket, his average is 46. we needed an all-rounder and the best choice for us was Faheem Ashraf,” he added.

It’s worth mentioning that the Men in Green are the defending champions of the 2025 Champions Trophy, having won the title in 2017 after beating India by 180 runs in the final.

“Bowling average 100 ki, batting average nau ki” – Former Pakistan captain’s brutal dig at selectors on Faheem Ashraf’s place in Champions Trophy squad

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram recently took a brutal dig at the selectors following Faheem Ashraf’s place in the squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. He said during ILT20 (via Indian Express):

"Faheem Ashraf was picked, talented cricketer, I wish him best. Lekin phle 20 matches mein unkind bowling average sau ki, batting average nau ki hai [but his batting average is 100 and bowling average is nine in his first 20 matches].

“There was a mindset behind it,” Akram hoped.

Faheem Ashraf has bagged 26 wickets in 34 ODIs, including a fifer. The southpaw has also amassed 224 runs, averaging 10.66. His last 50-over game came in the 2023 Asia Cup.

The 31-year-old emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker in the Bangladesh Premier League 2024/25, picking up 20 scalps in 11 matches. He also scored 102 runs in five innings, including one half-century. In List-A cricket, Ashraf has 115 wickets and 1216 runs in 79 matches.

On the other hand, Khusdil Shah has two wickets in 10 ODIs. He has also scored 199 runs at an average of 33.16. The all-rounder played his last ODI in August 2022. Like Ashraf, Khusdil impressed in the BPL 2024/25 season, taking 18 wickets and scoring 298 runs in 10 matches.

Pakistan’s 15-player squad for tri-nation series and Champions Trophy:

Batters: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir

All-rounders: Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain)

Wicketkeeper-batters: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Usman Khan

Spinner: Abrar Ahmed

Fast bowlers: Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi