Aqib backs Babar as opener ahead of Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan’s interim head coach Aqib Javed threw his weight behind Babar Azam to continue open for the national team ahead of the highly anticipated ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9.

Javed, while speaking at the post-match press conference after Pakistan’s five-wicket defeat in the tri-nation ODI series final against New Zealand, addressed the concern regarding Babar’s promotion as an opener.

The head coach backed the management’s decision to promote the star batter to the opening slot before expressing his hope for the latter to excel in the new role in important matches to follow.

“Our rationale behind the change was that if you look at the away series against South Africa, Babar Azam had to bat in the first over in all games. Then Saim got injured and he had to open in Tests too. These pitches are not troubling the batters at the start, we wanted our best batter to make good use of the powerplay, that suits us more,” said Javed.

“So, I think, in these conditions, Babar should open, and I am hopeful that he will play a big innings in important matches,” he added.

Despite managing only one victory from three matches of the recently concluded tri-nation ODI series, Javed remained confident in the squad’s ability to ‘do great’ in the upcoming tournament, suggesting that it has all the basis covered.

“This team will do great in the Champions Trophy. If this team bats normally and down till number eight you can score 350. If Haris Rauf gets fit and gets in form with Naseem and Shaheen as well as our spinners. This lineup has everything it needs to defeat any team,” stated Javed. “We had to have a spin all-rounder and a pace all-rounder, that is why Khushdil and Faheem are in the team. There should be variety when you are playing tournaments,” he added. Aqib Javed further shared his insights on the National Bank Stadium’s surface for the recently held tri-nation ODI series final before acknowledging that the team was at least 30 runs short of the defendable total.

“We saw the pitch in the morning and knew from that time that this wasn’t a high-scoring surface, a total of 270-280 would’ve been a good one. So that’s why we decided to bat first and try to post that kind of total and put them under pressure. We ended up posting around 240, and then if their batters can manage a quiet period or two, it doesn’t matter.”