Former Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who won the 2017 Champions Trophy as the skipper of the side, has shared words of wisdom for the current side, as the defending champions gear up to defend their crown in their own backyard at the 2025 edition.
The 2017 Champions Trophy winning captain is currently the Event Ambassador for the upcoming mega event, and speaking to ICC, the wicket-keeper batsman reflected on having the right mindset and importance of 'staying calm' to go all the way.
READ HERE: Bangladesh Skipper Makes Bold Statement Ahead Of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Opener Vs India
"Whenever we meet, it is a special occasion and there is so much hype and pressure around it. But as players, you need to stay calm, try and block that noise out, and just play with the same intensity as you would play Australia or any other team," said Sarfraz Ahmed.
"Pakistan have a really good chance of defending that title and I think they have a strong team. Some of the boys from 2017 are still there and we’re talking about some of the best – especially Babar Azam. He is a different Babar to the one that played in 2017, a more mature player and a dominant player in the game," said the former Pakistan captain.
"His batting will be so important for Pakistan and so will Fakhar Zaman’s. With the ball, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are brilliant bowlers and are playing well. The captain, Mohammad Rizwan, is also a wicketkeeper-batter, which worked pretty well for me back in 2017!," he added.
Sarfraz Ahmed Recalls Strategy Behind 2017 Triumph!
"Afterwards, we had a great team meeting, and some of our senior guys – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez – all said their piece. You need those types of characters around you. We changed our mindset from that day. The acrimony was very good for us, we made a couple of changes to the team and it helped our confidence."
"We knew we had beaten some of the best teams, so India was nothing we had not seen. I told the guys to relax, forget the result and just give 100%. The rest is history. When the last wicket went down and we won, it is impossible to describe that feeling in words. When I took the last catch, I was at gully. And I just ran. I saw Shoaib Malik and ran into his arms, I jumped into him and hugged him. The whole team then joined in. It was indescribable."