Champions Trophy 2025: Basit Ali backs Team India to lift the title after Pakistan knocked out in first round

Pakistan, who are hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in a hybrid model, became the first team to get knocked out in the league stage. Pakistan's campaign came to an end after facing a crushing defeat from Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue. Now, former Pakistani cricketer, who earlier claimed that the final of CT2025 will be played in Lahore, has now changed his stance and is backing Team India to dominate the rest of the tournament and lift the title.

The defending champions Pakistan lost both of its games against New Zealand and India. However, there were still minor chances for them to reach the semis if Bangladesh could have defeated the Blackcaps. But Kiwis took the Tigers down with a 5-wicket win in Rawalpindi to seal their trip to the semi-finals.

Apologising for his prior statement, Basit Ali said that he didn't expect such poor performance from Pakistan and hoped that India would dominate the tournament and win it. ''I apologise for saying that the final will be played in the final. I didn't expect Pakistan to play like this. I genuinely wish India would dominate the tournament and win it. If South Africa and India play the final, it would be good because it will be like the T20 World Cup final,'' Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.

Upcoming Group A Matches

While Team India will take on the Blackcaps on Sunday (March 2), the Mohammad Rizwan-led team will lock horns with Bangladesh on Thursday (February 27). India and New Zealand are already through to the semis. Apart from this, the Group B match between Australia and South Africa was washed out on Tuesday due to heavy rain, leaving both teams with just one point each.