"India, Pakistan And...": Shoaib Akhtar Does Not Name Australia, Throws In Wildcard For Champions Trophy Semis
NDTV
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has named a wildcard prediction for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals.
The Champions Trophy 2025 will be a tightly-fought tournament, with only eight sides in the whole competition and groups of four teams each. It will be the first time that Pakistan host a major ICC tournament in nearly three decades, with the last occasion coming during the 1996 World Cup. Ahead of the tournament, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has named the sides that he believes could very well make the semi-finals. However, Akhtar surprisingly did not specifically mention current world champions Australia.
Instead, Akhtar threw in a wildcard in his semi-finalists prediction.
"If Afghanistan's team shows maturity during the event, they could make it to the semi-finals," said in a media interaction in Dubai, as quoted by CricketPakistan.com.
"I believe Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan will reach the semi-finals of the 2025 Champions Trophy," Akhtar added.
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