Shoaib Akhtar Raises Eyebrows With Bold Champions Trophy Prediction: PAK Will Beat IND, Repeat Of 2017 Final'

L-R Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam walking out for toss in T20 World Cup, Shoaib Akhtar' (Source: AP/X)

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar named his semifinalists for the ICC Champions Trophy . The showpiece event will be co-hosted by Pakistan and UAE, with Dubai serving as a venue for India's matches. In Pakistan, the matches will be played in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. Given the conditions, the Asian teams would have a significant advantage over other teams.

Meanwhile, Akhtar predicted India and Pakistan to reach the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal. He also backed Afghanistan to reach the top four. Afghanistan in these conditions are no walkovers and had a great outing in the ODI World Cup 2023 where they defeated teams like England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Akhtar feels if Afghan batters can play well, they will have a good chance to qualify "If Afghanistan's batters show maturity, they can cause unexpected results," Akhtar said as quoted by ExpressTribune.

Akhtar also backed Pakistan to beat India in the showpiece event. The blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan will take place on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The veteran pacer backed the arch-rivals to meet in the summit clash. "I believe Pakistan will beat India on February 23. Both Pakistan and India should ideally meet in the final," he added.

Akhtar said that if Pakistan can beat India and New Zealand, they would have already won half the tournament. “If Pakistan defeats India and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, the Green Shirts will have already won half the tournament.”

India and Pakistan are two hot favourites to win the tournament. The teams clashed in the final of the previous edition in 2017 where Pakistan defeated India to win the title. Pakistan also defeated India in the 2021 T20 World Cup , however, India have got better of them in the last three events - T20 World Cup 2022, ODI World Cup 2023 and T20 World Cup 2024.

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