Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan challenged his team on Tuesday to demonstrate the same tenacity in the Champions Trophy 2025 as they did during the 10 years when no international team visited the country.

Pakistan will be hosting their first ICC event after 30 years, with Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore hosting the CT 2025 matches. The tournament begins on February 19, and the final will be played on March 9.

All the teams will play in Pakistan, except India, who will play their Group A matches in Dubai, and also the semi-final and final if they qualify.

No big international cricket team had visited Pakistan since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan squad in March 2009,until the beginning of this decade, when top teams such as Australia, England, and New Zealand resumed visits to their Asian opponents.

In between, Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe in 2015, and a World XI team led by Faf du Plessis toured for a three-match T20I series to allay security concerns.

“I think, most importantly, we should all enjoy the Champions Trophy as it is after a long time (that) we are having such a big event in Pakistan, after 10 years (that) we spent playing our home matches elsewhere.

If you see, even in those 10 years (that) we suffered, Pakistan cricket did well and won big matches, including being the Test No. 1 team and (winning the) Champions Trophy. I hope we can repeat that same thing in this tournament," Rizwan told the media in Karachi on Tuesday.

Rizwan, on the other hand, believes Pakistan will need to be at their best to succeed in the competition, which begins on Wednesday.

“It is hard to say how we will perform on a particular day because it is important for us to play to our optimum level to win matches," he said.

Rizwan stated that each member of the team is a "captain" and added, "But yes, as seniors, we all need to lead from the front."

He also confirmed that Babar Azam will continue to open in the Champions Trophy and that fast bowler Haris Rauf is fit for the tournament opener against New Zealand. Meanwhile, Rizwan stated that his team's inability to perform under pressure prevented them from showing consistency.

“I think we lack that one or two percent needed to win matches under pressure because unfortunately, we tend to crack under pressure and lose close matches as we have seen in recent games," he said.

Rizwan stated that Pakistan had learned a lot from their tri-series defeats to New Zealand and will avoid making the same mistakes in the Champions Trophy opener.

(PTI inputs)