Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah has played down their Champions Trophy 2025 clash against India on February 23 at the Dubai International Stadium. While the right-arm speedster acknowledged it to be a pressure game, he also felt concentrating only on one match will not help Pakistan in achieving their target.
With India and Pakistan set to lock horns in yet another ICC event, the clash is already generating plenty of buzz. The stakes will be higher on this occasion, given Pakistan had beaten their arch-rivals in the 2017 Champions Trophy final to lift the title for the first time.
During a press conference on Monday ahead of Pakistan's tri-series clash against South Africa, Naseem said they haven't even had a discussion about the India game and stressed about needing to play in all the matches to win the Champions Trophy.
Below is the video shared by PCB:
"Abhi tak team mein koi discussion nahin hui hai, India ke against kya karna hai, kya nahin karna hai. Kyunki sab players ka focus yehi hai ki hum poore tournament mein acchi cricket kaise khelein aur kis tarah final mein paunchke usko jeet sakte hain. Baaki agar aap ek match ki baat karte hain usse hamaara target achieve nahin hoga, kyunki poore tournament mein aapko acchi cricket khelni padegi. Obviously pressure match hai, aur jo pressure ko handle karega, relax hoke apni cricket khelega, wahi best karega."
(We haven't had a discussion about what or what we are not going to do against India. We are focussed on how we play well in the entire tournament because we want to reach the final and win it. If we concentrate only on one match, our target will not be met. It is a pressure match and the team that handles it well, plays their best cricket on that day, will win.)
Naseem Shah went wicketless in the tri-series opener against New Zealand
Meanwhile, Naseem went wicketless in his ten overs, conceding 70 runs as Pakistan's bowling attack conceded 330 against New Zealand in the tri-series opener against Pakistan in Lahore on Saturday. They later got bowled out for 252 to lose the fixture by 78 runs.
With the match against South Africa on Wednesday proving to be a must-win, Pakistan are under immense pressure.
