ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Aaqib Javed openly rejects India’s upper hand claims vs Pakistan

Pakistan National Cricket Team head coach Aaqib Javed has brushed aside the notions that India National Cricket Team holds an advantage in the upcoming high-stakes encounter between the two teams in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Sunday (February 23).

With Pakistan playing its home fixtures in the UAE for a decade between 2009 and 2019 and many players participating in leagues like the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and ILT20 here, Aaqib Javed believes that the conditions do not favor one side over the other.

Aaqib Javed dismisses India's advantage claims ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash

There are a lot of notions that the Men in Blue will have an edge over the Men in Green when they face each other in the high-voltage clash in Dubai, as the tourists have been in the UAE for more than a week and even played their opening match at the venue.

Additionally, the Indian players also played IPL matches in Dubai, so many feel Rohit Sharma and his team hold an upper hand in the upcoming high-stakes match. On the contrary, Pakistan's head coach felt that the defending champions had a slight advantage, not India.

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'There's no advantage or disadvantage'

Aaqib Javed said at the pre-match press conference: “There's no advantage [for India] at all because if you look at all the Pakistani players, they have been playing leagues here. The PSL has been played here. So, there's nothing really - there's no advantage or disadvantage.”

Aaqib Javed emphasized that the pitch and ground conditions will be the real factors, so his team is focused on adjusting accordingly and facing the arch-rivals strategically.

The Pakistani head coach and selector noted, “We also have to see the pitch and the ground here. Are these similar to the ones we have in Pakistan, or are they different? We will play in accordance with the pitches, conditions, and the opposition team.”

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You shouldn't keep the crowd in mind: Aaqib Javed's message to Pakistan players

As excitement builds for the blockbuster ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash, Javed highlighted the electrifying atmosphere of an India-Pakistan match. He stressed that the players should remain focused on their game without being influenced by the crowd's reactions in Dubai.

The coach signed off by saying, “In a Pakistan-India game, the energy will remain high. And this is the beauty of this contest. What does the crowd do? When you play well, the crowd supports you, they clap their hands. When you play poorly, be it India or Pakistan, the home crowd will go against you. As a player, you shouldn't keep the crowd in mind. We never kept it, and neither should these players. What's your focus? Ball, bat - that's it.”

Notably, India and Pakistan have faced each other five times in ICC Champions Trophy history, with their first encounter taking place in 2004. They last met in the tournament in 2017, where Pakistan defeated India by 108 runs to win the title in England. Overall, Pakistan holds a slight edge in their head-to-head record, leading 3-2 against India in the ICC Champions Trophy.