India and Pakistan will clash in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on February 23. This will be their sixth meeting in the Champions Trophy tournament, and Pakistan holds a 3-2 lead over India. This includes Pakistan’s win in the final of the 2017 CT final in England.
In ICC tournaments such as the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy, India has won 16 of 21 matches with only four losses, and former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that the current Indian side does not play under any pressure when facing Pakistan.
“At present, whenever India and Pakistan play against each other, the Indian team is not under that much pressure as compared to what the Pakistan team experiences. The Indian team is much more relaxed when there is a match against Pakistan at present.
The Pakistan team is under much more pressure, and it is visible as one sees their players. It seems that they are playing under a lot of pressure. It’s a bit sad but I think this Pakistan team has the quality, and they can do something. If it’s their day, they can outperform India,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat.
The Indian squad will play all of its group matches in Dubai, beginning with their first encounter against Bangladesh on Thursday. The encounter against Pakistan on February 23, and Ashwin believes the toss will play an important part in Dubai.
With two sides from each group going to the semi-finals, Ashwin has backed India, New Zealand, South Africa, and England to make the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
“This Indian team is a champion material team. I only have my reservations about five spinners in the squad. This is the team that has got the meat to be champions, and there is a chance to win an ICC tournament for the second consecutive time.
It’s an early call. But I feel that if India wins the toss twice in Dubai, then India or New Zealand playing in the final is the highest. This is an early call, but I think India will be in the final. My four qualifying teams will be India, New Zealand, New Zealan,d and South Africa. Afghanistan has got an outside chance. Champions Trophy has always seen surprises,” concluded Ashwin.
After Pakistan, India will play New Zealand in their final group match on March 2, also in Dubai.
