‘No ifs and buts,’ Hasan Ali backs Pakistan’s Champions Trophy squad

LAHORE: Pakistan’s right-arm pacer Hasan Ali on Wednesday, threw his weight behind the players selected in the national squad for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9.

Hasan, while talking to the media here, addressed the ongoing criticism surrounding Pakistan’s squad for the mega event, stating that the selected players should be supported.

“In my opinion, this is the best squad for the Champions Trophy. We should support the players and there should not be any ifs and buts,” said Hasan.

The right-arm pacer, who was the Player of the Tournament of the previous edition in 2017, also recalled Pakistan’s title-winning campaign and stated that he can never forget the memories.

“The memories of the 2017 Champions Trophy are still fresh, it was a great achievement for all of us young players, so we can never forget the moment of winning the Champions Trophy,” Hasan Ali stated.

“It is a welcome development that the Champions Trophy is now being held in Pakistan,” said the pacer.

“It was very important for the young talent to have the event here. I hope the Pakistan team will do well in the Champions Trophy,” he added.

The 30-year-old also predicted the four semi-finalists of the highly-anticipated, picking hosts and defending champions Pakistan, alongside India, New Zealand and Australia.

Pakistan squad for tri-nation series and Champions Trophy 2025:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.