Pakistan fully prepared for match against India: PCB chief

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Feb 23, 2025, 05:43 IST

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The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed confidence in Pakistan's readiness to face India in the crucial Champions Trophy match in Dubai. Naqvi assured support for the team regardless of the outcome. While India eyes a semifinal spot with a win, Pakistan must win to stay in the tournament. The mishap with India's national anthem in Lahore was noted.

Pakistan fully prepared for match against India: PCB chief

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi speaks with Pakistan cricketers in Dubai. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), declared on Saturday that his squad was ready to play India, their bitter rivals, in the Champions Trophy match in Dubai on Sunday.
Naqvi greeted the players during his visit to the Pakistani team's training facility. Babar Azam, the senior batter, did not show up for the practice.

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"Hope there will be a good match tomorrow. Definitely, our team is fully prepared. I think the team is in form. Whether they win or lose we are with them (the team)," Naqvi told reporters.

While Rohit Sharma's team hopes to secure a semifinal berth with a victory on Sunday, Pakistan need to defeat India to avoid being eliminated early from the tournament.

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Asked how he would have felt had the Indo-Pak match been held in Lahore, he said, "Please ask the Indians what they would have felt if the match happens in Lahore."
Although Pakistan is the tournament's official host nation, the Indian team is playing all of their games in Dubai.

On the incident of India's national anthem being played for a fraction of a second at the start of the Australia-England Champions Trophy match in Lahore on Saturday, he said, "ICC is organising the tournament."

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