ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Key player battles in India-Pakistan clash
What's the story
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will see one of cricket's fiercest rivalries come alive as India take on Pakistan on Sunday.
The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
This will be their first ODI meeting since the 2023 World Cup, which India won.
The upcoming clash promises a number of exciting player duels that could well decide the fate of the game.
Here we look at some of these anticipated battles.
Duel #1
Rohit Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Afridi's opening spells have given nightmares to several prominent batters in recent years.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma would be required to tackle his thunderbolts in the powerplay overs.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the left-arm pacer has dismissed the veteran opener twice across four ODI meetings.
However, Rohit was the first batter to smash Afridi for a six in the first over in ODIs.
Duel #2
Virat Kohli vs Abrar Ahmed
Another interesting face-off will be between Virat Kohli and Abrar Ahmed.
Despite his recent form, Kohli remains a formidable opponent in ODI cricket, especially against Pakistan.
However, he has been vulnerable to leg-spinners of late with five of his last six ODI dismissals coming from them.
This could be an advantage for Ahmed in their first-ever encounter on the field.
Duel #3
Babar Azam vs Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been nothing but a run machine in ODIs though he has endured a poor run lately.
India's star left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav can be handed the responsibility of keeping him quiet.
Notably, the left-arm wrist-spinner dismissed Babar with a dream ball in the 2019 WC.
Overall, he has dismissed the Pakistan star twice in four ODI meetings.
Duel #4
Mohammad Rizwan vs Mohammed Shami
As Mohammad Rizwan has been on a roll lately, he can pose a serious threat to India's plans.
Rohit might bring on Mohammed Shami when the Pakistan skipper arrives in the middle.
Notably, Shami made the old ball talk in India's opener against Bangladesh and claimed a fifer.
As the two players have never met in ODIs, the pacer might trouble Rizwan early on.
Rizwan averages 40.07 against right-arm pacers in ODIs.