Champions Trophy: Sarfaraz shares key advise to Pakistan ahead of India clash

Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has opened up about the upcoming highly-anticipated clash between Pakistan and India and shared a piece of advice to the players.

The match will take place in Dubai on February 23.

Sarfaraz, who was the captain of the Pakistan side that lifted the Champions Trophy in 2017 triumph, termed the game special.

“Whenever we meet, it is a special occasion and there is so much hype and pressure around it,” Sarfaraz told ICC.

“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.”

He predicted that Pakistan has a good chance of defending the title under Mohammad Rizwan’s leadership.

“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. 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!”