Former cricketer Atul Wassan took everyone by surprise by revealing that he wants Pakistan to win against India in the upcoming blockbuster clash in the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday. In the clash of the heavyweights, Pakistan will fight to keep its title defence alive by facing bitter rival India.
Pakistan found themselves in this position after surrendering to a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener. If the Men in Green continue their shambolic run against India on Sunday, they will need plenty of permutations and combinations to work in its favour and keep its campaign alive.
#WATCH | Delhi | On India’s match against Pakistan in the #ICCChampionsTrophy tomorrow in Dubai, former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan says, “I want Pakistan to win the match as it will make the tournament exciting. If Pakistan is eliminated, then what will be left for the… pic.twitter.com/lRKZoBl5VJ
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2025
Wassan believes the tournament will become much more exciting if Pakistan emerges victorious in the high-stakes encounter.
“I want Pakistan to win because it will be fun, tournament-wise. If you don’t let Pakistan win, then what will you do? If Pakistan wins, then it becomes a contest. There should be an equal fight,” Wassan told ANI.
Wassan analysed India’s squad for the ongoing Champions Trophy and lavished praise on the country’s batting depth in the playing XI. Given the conditions, he backed India’s strategy of going with a spin-laden attack in Dubai and felt that it was the best team.
“You have a lot of good batters: Shubman (Gill), Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli). You are batting until number eight in Axar Patel. Rohit has picked five spinners, and this team is best for Dubai. Have faith in what you have and move ahead,” he added.
While Pakistan kicked off its campaign on a losing note, India sailed to a comfortable six-wicket win against Bangladesh to open its win account.
India squad for Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, 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.
