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Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘Can't compare Virat Kohli even with MS Dhoni': Ahmed Shehzad exposes campaigns likening Babar Azam to ex-India captain
Former cricketer Ahmed Shehzad slammed the Pakistan media for Babar Azam's comparisons with India batting maestro Virat Kohli. Babar, the former Pakistan captain, has suffered a massive dip in his form. He has failed to score an international century since August 2023, when he hit a ton against Nepal in the Asia Cup. The 30-year-old has been put under the scanner after his flop show in the ODI series against the West Indies. He scored 56 runs in three matches with two single-digit scores, including a three-ball duck in the second ODI. Ahmed Shehzad slams comparison between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. (ANI) Shehzad, who is a big admirer of Kohli, lashed out at the Pakistan media for running campaigns comparing Babar with the Indian superstar in the past, but now, when his form has dipped, the stance has changed. 'When everything was going well, you were running campaigns comparing players. Now that the performances are not coming, you are saying 'don't compare two players'. Why not? Virat Kohli's comparison cannot be made with anyone in the world. He is a legend of this generation, a role model," said Shehzad, as quoted by The Times of India. Babar lost his white-ball captaincy after the forgettable T20 World Cup 2024. Under his leadership, Pakistan failed to get past the group stage after they lost their opening match to the non-Test-playing nation USA and then later suffered defeat against arch-rivals India. He has already lost his place in the T20I set-up as Pakistan have decided to give a chance to young players, considering his form, his ODI place is also under the scanner now. He had another flop outing on Tuesday, scoring just 9 off 23 balls as Pakistan lost the third ODI and series to the West Indies. 'Virat Kohli stands alone' Meanwhile, Shehzad heaped praise on Kohli and said even India's World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni should not be compared with him when the debate is about batter, cricketer and athlete. 'You cannot compare him even with MS Dhoni. Dhoni may have been a great captain, but as a batter, cricketer and athlete, Kohli stands alone. No one should be compared with anyone because it's unfair and it adds extra pressure, which we are now seeing on Babar Azam," he added.
Al Jazeera
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 history: Winners, India vs Pakistan, top players
The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Champions Trophy – a tournament that was tucked away into obscurity since 2017 – is set to make its comeback as Pakistan hosts its first multination cricket event in 29 years. The ninth edition of the elite one-day international (ODI) tournament will run from February 19 to March 9 in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Here's a look at the brief history of the competition and the moments that mattered the most: 1998 Host: Bangladesh Teams: 9 Final: South Africa vs West Indies Runner-up: South Africa – by four wickets Player of the tournament: Jacques Kallis (South Africa) The inaugural edition, conceived to help the game beyond cricket's Test-playing nations, was held in Bangladesh as the Wills International Cup. The ICC promised that the funds generated from the tournament would develop non-Test-playing nations but, since Bangladesh were yet to join the sport's top tier, the hosts were not participants. The main round began with quarterfinals but New Zealand and Zimbabwe faced off in a pre-knockouts game to determine the eighth team. As it turned out, that opening fixture – in a last-ball finish – ended up being the closest and most memorable game. Pakistan and India were plotted to meet in the semifinals, but a star-studded Pakistani side – including Shahid Afridi, Aamer Sohail, Wasim Akram and Moin Khan – failed to chase a 290-run target against Brian Lara's West Indies. The West Indies went on to beat India, but lost to South Africa in the final. Jacques Kallis's usual all-round brilliance brought the Proteas their first – and to date – only ICC Men's title. 2000 Host: Kenya Teams: 11 Final: New Zealand vs India Winner: New Zealand – by four wickets Player of the tournament: None The renamed ICC Knockout Trophy was hosted by Kenya, in keeping with the idea of expanding the sport into the ICC's associate nations. This time around, the hosts, alongside fellow debutants Bangladesh, were also included in the expanded lineup, but both failed to enter the main round. Modern limited-over cricket greats Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Marlon Samuels made their ODI debuts during the tournament. India's captain Sourav Ganguly amassed 348 runs, including two centuries, in four matches and led his team to the final against New Zealand. While Ganguly top-scored in the final with 117 runs, his effort was overshadowed by Chris Carins, whose unbeaten 108 secured New Zealand's first ICC title. 2002 The third edition saw the addition of a further team – the Netherlands – and the introduction of a group-based system. The top team from each of the four groups entered the semifinals, where India and South Africa were locked together until Virender Sehwag's part-time off-spin undid Proteas stars Kallis, Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher. India's final against the hosts was a rain-affected affair, and after two attempts at completing the match, the decider was called off and the trophy was shared. 2004 Breaking away from the promise of hosting the Champions Trophy in developing cricket nations, the ICC took the tournament to England where baseball-mad United States entered the foray by qualifying by winning the ICC Six Nations Challenge. The American challenge didn't last long. In one of the shortest ODI games – by balls bowled – their fixture against Australia was over in fewer than 32 overs, having been skittled for 64 in 24 overs. The chase was completed inside eight overs, wrapping up the match in less than three hours. It took the ICC six years to finally realise the importance of an India vs Pakistan fixture in a global event. The South Asian rivals were brought together in Group C and ensuring they played each other at least once. The match lived up to its hype and went down to the last over. Shoaib Akhtar's blistering fast bowling and Naved-ul-Hasan's wily medium pace restricted India to 200, with Rahul 'the Wall' Dravid managing to top score with 67. Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (41) and Mohammd Yousuf (81) guided Pakistan towards the target. Shahid Afridi's 12-ball-25 sealed the win with four balls to spare. England and West Indies overpowered their semifinal opponents – Australia and Pakistan, respectively – to set up the final at the Oval in London. Marcus Trescothick's century was not enough to bring England their first ICC title as the West Indies won by two wickets. 2006 India began their first home Champions Trophy tournament as one of the favourites but were quickly eliminated, losing two of their three group games. The other two South Asian teams – Pakistan and Sri Lanka – also failed to progress. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC were seemingly at loggerheads in the run-up to the tournament, with then-BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi criticising the ICC's marketing and scheduling of the tournament. Pakistan and India were bewilderingly separated, once again, in the group stage. The first semifinal saw regional rivals Australia and New Zealand face off in Mohali, where the reigning ODI world champions recorded a comfortable win to book a date against holders West Indies, who eased to a six-wicket win over South Africa. Rain reduced the final to 35 overs, but failed to dampen the spirit of Ricky Ponting's side. The mighty Australian team of the 1990s and 2000s finally claimed their first Champions Trophy title with an eight-wicket win. 2009 The sixth edition was scheduled for Pakistan in 2008 but was moved out of the country following the March 3 gun attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore. The hosting rights were granted to South Africa and the tournament was scheduled for 2009. The number of teams was trimmed down to eight, based on the teams' ODI rankings, and divided into two groups. Group A's marquee clash saw Pakistan beat India by 54 runs in front of a roaring crowd in Centurion. Shoaib Malik's quickfire century, combined with the accurate spin bowling from Saeed Ajmal and Afridi gave Pakistan their second Champions Trophy win over India in as many encounters. Australia marched to the finals with an unbeaten record and bagged consecutives trophies with a six-wicket defeat of New Zealand, thanks to opener Shane Watson's unbeaten century. 2013 Host: England and Wales Teams: 8 Final: England vs India Winner: India – by five runs Player of the tournament: Shikhar Dhawan (India) The Champions Trophy was meant to be done and dusted in 2009, but the ICC brought it back to life after the Test championship playoff scheduled for 2013 was called off due to broadcasting and sponsorship issues. The competition was back and so was the India-Pakistan clash. The match failed to live up to expectations, though, as Pakistan's meek batting effort saw them dismissed for 165 in 40 overs. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar's economical pace and swing bowling, combined with the spin attack of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Aswhin, left Pakistan's batters hapless. Emboldened India captain MS Dhoni even threw the ball to Virat Kohli for a couple of overs of his wrong-footed dibbly-dobbly bowling. India chased the target in fewer than 20 overs in front of a boisterous Edgbaston crowd. The organisers were repaid for the hastily arranged edition of the tournament when hosts England and world champions India met in the final. However, the British weather played spoilsport and the match was reduced to 20 overs. Kohli, at the peak of his limited-overs career, scored 43 runs off 34 balls as India posted 129. Despite an early stutter, England seemed on course with 20 needed off the last 15 balls and six wickets in hand. India's wily captain Dhoni brought back pacer Ishant Sharma, who had been expensive and erratic. Sharma took two wickets in two balls and was followed by another two-wicket over by Jadeja. Dhoni's moved paid off as India won the trophy for the second time and the iconic Indian skipper became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs tournaments – the T20 World Cup (2007), the 50-over World Cup (2011) and the Champions Trophy. 2017 Host: England Teams: Eight Final: India vs Pakistan Winner: Pakistan – by 180 runs Player of the tournament: Hasan Ali (Pakistan) After terming the 2013 edition the last one, the ICC said it was sure the 2017 was definitely going to be year cricket fans would bid farewell to the Champions Trophy. And so, England played host to the eight-team event yet again. Opening the tournament with a big win over Bangladesh in Group A, England then beat Australia and New Zealand. Group B's biggest fixture saw India romp to a 124-run win over Sarfaraz Ahmed's Pakistan, whose batting lineup collapsed to 164 all out in 41 overs. However, with a little help from rain in their win over South Africa, and their rivals India, who also beat South Africa, Pakistan qualified for the semifinals. As is often the case with Pakistan in global events, the team made the most of their new lease in the tournament and crushed favourites England by eight wickets. India, too, romped to a huge win over Bangladesh to set up a dream final for the organisers, fans, broadcasters and sponsors alike. Opener Fakhar Zaman, who made his Pakistan debut 11 days earlier, was dismissed off a Jasprit Bumrah no ball and went on to score 114 runs off 106 balls to help Pakistan set up a target of 339. India's run chase was rocked by opener Mohammad Amir, who dismissed Rohit Sharma and Kohli in his first two overs. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan and player of the tournament Hasan Ali added to the damage as India were dismissed for 158 in 30.3 overs. The 180-run win, Pakistan's biggest in ODIs against India, brought the team in green their first Champions Trophy title.
