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“Pandya, Kohli and …” – Fakhar Zaman names 3 important players for India in ICC Champions Trophy

“Pandya, Kohli and …” – Fakhar Zaman names 3 important players for India in ICC Champions Trophy

Placed in Group A of the ICC Champions Trophy, Team India will face Bangladesh on February 20, Pakistan on February 23 and New Zealand on March 2.

The India cricket team has announced their squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. Now, all eyes are on their clash against Pakistan on February 23. Playing in Dubai, which is basically the Pakistan cricket team’s second home, won’t be easy for the Men in Blue.

Flat pitch for India vs Pakistan match in Champions Trophy?

Pakistan is used to the conditions and knows the pitches, having played most of their matches in the UAE due to their international exile. However, the wickets won’t be spinning big. In fact, in the ongoing ILT20, pacers have picked up 41 wickets at an average of 19.14 while spinners have only managed to get 8 wickets at a 46.87 average.

Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan’s opener who downed Team India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy Final, thinks the wicket might be flat. Which could take away the advantage from the Men in Green and level the playing field. “Having flat wickets everywhere is not always a good thing. It’s important to play in different conditions. Every player at the international level is a match-winner, and they play for the team,” Zaman said in a virtual press conference on the sidelines at the ILT20.

3 important players for India in ICC Champions Trophy

Team India hadn’t even announced their team for the ICC Champions Trophy, but Zaman already knew who the danger men would be. Asked to name three players who he thought would be troublesome for Pakistan come February 23, Zaman, who has played multiple Asia and World Cups against India, took the names of the usual suspects.

“In my opinion, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma will be important players for India in the upcoming tournament,” the opener added.

More on Cricket

Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma: ODI stats vs Pakistan

What Zaman said makes sense. All three have exceptional records in ODIs against Pakistan. The first guy he named, Hardik Pandya, actually averages more than batting stalwarts against the arch-rivals and, on top of that, has 8 wickets to his name as well.

MatchesRunsAverage50s & 100sWickets
Hardik Pandya720969.662 & 08
Virat Kohli1667852.152 & 30
Rohit Sharma1987351.358 & 20
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