ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Gautam Gambhir openly threatens Pakistan ahead of IND vs PAK

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has sent a stern warning to Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. Gambhir made it clear that India is going to take the match as seriously as possible just as the other games.

India and Pakistan will face off in a marquee clash to be held on February 23 in Dubai. As with the other India-Pakistan matches, this match also holds a lot of significance and both teams will be looking to win at any cost.

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Gautam Gambhir warns Pakistan ahead of Champions Trophy match with India

During the Naman Awards recently, Gautam Gambhir was asked about the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match in the upcoming Champions Trophy and how the team is preparing for that game.

But India's head coach made it clear that his team will be focusing on all the matches of the tournament and not just one match. He believes that the emotions will be high during the India-Pakistan match but he wants to focus on the contest.

"We don't go to the Champions Trophy thinking the 23rd is the most important game. All five matches are important. Our mission is to go to Dubai to win all the matches, but if that is one game in the middle of winning the Champions Trophy, we're going to take it as seriously as possible," Gambhir said.

"Also, when India and Pakistan play, the emotions will be high, but the contest remains the same. It is between bat and ball. For me, it remains the same," he added.

India vs Pakistan head-to-head in Champions Trophy

India and Pakistan have faced off five times against each other in the history of the Champions Trophy. Pakistan holds the edge here having won three games while India have won two matches.

Both these teams also faced each other in the final of the last edition of the Champions Trophy held in 2017. Pakistan emerged victorious in that game as they defeated India by 180 runs in a historic win. The Men in Green will arrive at the Champions Trophy 2025 as defending champions.

India's schedule in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Team India will begin its Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20. The team will then play the arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23. The Men in Blue will finish the league stage of the tournament with a match against New Zealand on March 2.

If India manages to qualify for the next stage, they will play the first semi-final on March 4 to be held in Dubai. The final will be played on March 9 in Lahore or Dubai depending upon India's availability for the summit clash.

While all the other teams are playing in Pakistan, India will play all its matches in Dubai due to the hybrid model. The BCCI had declined to send the team to Pakistan after they didn't receive the required permission from the Indian government.

India squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja