Sourav Ganguly says ‘Pakistan will probably be out’ of ICC Champions Trophy

New Delhi: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has downplayed Pakistan’s prospects of defeating India in the highly anticipated Champions Trophy 2025 match scheduled for Sunday, February 23, in Dubai. Ganguly, who has captained India in numerous notable matches against Pakistan, emphasized that India’s strong spin bowling will provide them with a considerable advantage in the game.

India enters the match following a decisive win over Bangladesh in their Group A opener on Thursday in Dubai. Mohammed Shami excelled in his return to ICC events, taking five wickets. Spinners Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav effectively restricted Bangladesh’s scoring during the middle overs. At one stage, Axar Patel was close to a hat-trick as Bangladesh struggled at 35 for 5, but Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali formed a partnership exceeding 150 runs, helping their team reach a total of 228.

India successfully reached their target with six wickets remaining, thanks to Shubman Gill’s determined century and a strong start from Rohit Sharma.

Pakistan faced a significant defeat, losing by 60 runs to New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament held in Karachi on Wednesday. The New Zealand team, led by impressive centuries from Tom Latham and Will Young, managed to score 320 runs, effectively utilizing both pace and spin to outplay Pakistan.

During a promotional event in Kolkata, Ganguly stated that India is not only favored to win their match against Pakistan but also to succeed throughout the entire tournament.

According to Ganguly, India is not only favored to win against Pakistan but is also the top contender for the entire tournament. He believes that Pakistan will face challenges, particularly with the significant role of spinners in the match. Ganguly anticipates that India will maintain their current bowling lineup.

“India are not just favourites against Pakistan but for me, they are favourites for this tournament. It won’t be easy for Pakistan. The spinners will also play a crucial part. I think India will go with the same (bowling) combination,” Ganguly said.

India opted for a three-man spin strategy, selecting Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami as their main fast bowlers, complemented by all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Conversely, Pakistan included just one specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed, in their starting eleven and has only one specialist spinner in their 15-member squad.

“On the wicket in Dubai, they will need spinners. I presume this Dubai pitch will turn a bit, and Pakistan doesn’t play spin very well. India has quality spinners,” Ganguly added.

The ex-captain of India also forecasted a quick departure for Pakistan.

“New Zealand have beaten Pakistan. So, New Zealand is ahead. If India beat Pakistan, then Pakistan will probably be out of the competition. So, I see India and New Zealand progressing from this group,” he added.

Pakistan faced a significant setback with the injury of Fakhar Zaman following their match against New Zealand. The dynamic opener incurred a leg injury while fielding and experienced difficulties during their unsuccessful attempt to chase down a target of 321 runs.

Babar Azam had difficulty establishing a rhythm in Karachi, whereas Indian player Virat Kohli continued to face challenges with spin bowling.

Following his dismissal by Adil Rashid twice during a home ODI series earlier this month, Kohli faced another challenge when he was out to Rishad Hossain in the match against Bangladesh on Thursday. He struggled to manipulate the strike during the middle overs; however, Ganguly expressed confidence in the star batsman’s ability to address his difficulties with spin bowling.

“The quality of cricketer Virat Kohli is —I’m sure he will be able to sort this out. He has got 81 international hundreds, and I’m sure he scored runs against leg-spin also. So, it was probably just one of those days when he got out. He has to find a way to play it.”