Karachi: ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 Event Ambassador Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was the captain of the Pakistan side that lifted the Champions Trophy in 2017, wants the Men in Green to play intense but smart cricket against arch-rivals India on February 23, when the two sides face-off in Dubai.

“Whenever we meet, it is a special occasion and there is so much hype and pressure around it,” Sarfaraz discussed the importance of India-Pakistan encounters in ICC tournaments.

“But as players, you need to stay calm, try and block that noise out, and just play with the same intensity as you would play Australia or any other team,” he said.

Sarfaraz predicted that Pakistan has a good chance of defending the title under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, an ICC report said.

“Pakistan have a really good chance of defending that title and I think they have a strong team. Some of the boys from 2017 are still there and we’re talking about some of the best – especially Babar Azam," he said.

“He is a different Babar to the one that played in 2017, a more mature player and a dominant player in the game. His batting will be so important for Pakistan and so will Fakhar Zaman’s," Sarfaraz said.

“With the ball, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are brilliant bowlers and are playing well. The captain, Mohammad Rizwan, is also a wicketkeeper-batter, which worked pretty well for me back in 2017,” he said.

Unlike in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup or the Men’s T20 World Cup, where India have a significant advantage over Pakistan, the Men in Green have a 3-2 advantage against the latter in the Champions Trophy.

However, their 2017 campaign got off to a shocking start when they lost to a strong India side by 124 runs. Rohit Sharma (91), Shikhar Dhawan (68), and Virat Kohli (81) starred with the willow before the bowling attack finished the job.

Sarfaraz recalled how the side regrouped under the guidance of senior players like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, something he reckons that the present Pakistan side will need too.

“Afterwards, we had a great team meeting, and some of our senior guys – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez – all said their piece. You need those types of characters around you. We changed our mindset from that day. The acrimony was very good for us, we made a couple of changes to the team and it helped our confidence,” he said.

Pakistan turned it around after the loss to India, beating South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England on the way to the Finals.

While the addition of Fakhar Zaman, who debuted in the group stage game against South Africa, added solidity and firepower to the top, the likes of Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees gave Pakistan control and wickets with the new ball as they showed in the semi-final against England, which Pakistan won by eight wickets.

“We played England in the semi-finals and our bowlers were just superb,” Sarfaraz said. “Then, it was India in the final. I was just confident our level was very high and my message to the players ahead of the final was to relax.”

Pakistan had a dream day against their neighbouring rivals in the final, wherein Fakhar Zaman scored a brilliant century to guide them to a commanding total, before Mohammad Amir ran through the Indian top-order and set their historic win.

“We knew we had beaten some of the best teams, so India was nothing we had not seen,” Sarfaraz discussed the team’s mindset ahead of the contest. “I told the guys to relax, forget the result and just give 100%.

“The rest is history. When the last wicket went down and we won, it is impossible to describe that feeling in words. When I took the last catch, I was at gully. And I just ran. I saw Shoaib Malik and ran into his arms, I jumped into him and hugged him. The whole team then joined in. It was indescribable,” he added.

Pakistan begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign against New Zealand on February 18 in Karachi and face-off against India on 23 February in Dubai.