Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali says that Babar Azam's excuse is ready if he fails to perform at the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 which begins February 19. Babar, who is expected to open the innings with Fakhar Zaman, has been struggling with his form for months.

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“Babar’s place in the team will remain unaffected, irrespective of his performance in the Champions Trophy. I hope Babar performs. If he performs, he will say I played for Pakistan. If he doesn’t perform, he will say I was forcefully made to open,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

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“Fakhar’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on various factors such as conditions, opposition and match strategy. Both players are highly capable at the top of the order, with Babar being particularly seasoned in the role, regularly opening in T20Is and also excelling in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries in Saim Ayub’s absence,” he added.

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Pakistan will be hoping to defend their title when the tournament begins in two weeks' time, but before that, the hosts will be playing a tri-nation series with New Zealand and South Africa to get in the ODI mode.

Pakistan had beaten India in the final to claim the title in 2017 - the last time the Champions Trophy was played. Fakhar Zaman had hit a hundred while Mohammad Amir had rattled the Indian top order, accounting for the wickets of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

With matches being played in their home country, Pakistan will be backing themselves to repeat the performance from the last edition despite the recent failures across formats.

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Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy

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