Ricky Ponting believes Pakistan can make it to Champions Trophy final

LAHORE: Australian great Ricky Ponting has said that the Pakistan team is a strong contender to make it to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Speaking to journalist Sanjana Ganesan alongside Ravi Shastri in a bumper episode of The ICC Review on Saturday, the two cricket greats predicted that India and Australia are the two firm contenders for this year’s Champions Trophy but Ponting believes "there is another contender in the mix".

He thinks hosts Pakistan can pose a strong challenge to the two teams.

The former Australia skipper, as quoted by the ICC website, said the other team that is playing some really good cricket at the moment is Pakistan.

"Their one-day cricket over the last little bit has been absolutely outstanding," said Ponting.

"We know they’re not always the most predictable team in those big tournaments, but they seem like they’ve sorted things out a little bit."

The ICC adds: the Green Shirts, led by Mohammad Rizwan, are coming into 2025 on the back of ODI series wins in Australia and South Africa.

Following the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan have played three ODI series, defeating world champions Australia 2-1, Zimbabwe 2-1 and South Africa 3-0.

In the previous edition of the Champions Trophy, a young Pakistan side, led by the experienced Sarfaraz Ahmed and a sizzling hundred in the final from Fakhar Zaman, combined with a blistering bowling show, pulled off the job at the Oval, and the hosts will be looking to repeat their heroics.

The element of defending champions will also provide some extra energy to the home side, who beat India to their maiden crown in the 2017 edition. The two sides will tussle it out yet again in a group fixture in Dubai on February 23.

However, Ponting and Shastri said India and Australia will fight out the mega cricketing event’s final.

"Based on their recent success in big tournaments and star-studded lineups, they will play the final," the duo predicted.

While Shastri named England and South Africa as the other semi-finals prospects, the former India head coach tipped the 2023 Cricket World Cup finalists to go all the way in the eight-team tournament.

“It’s hard to go past India and Australia again,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“Just think about the quality of players in both countries right now, and you look back in recent history when these big finals and big ICC events have come around and inevitably Australia and India are there somewhere.”

India and Australia, the two most successful sides in the tournament, having won it twice each in 2002, 2013 and 2006, 2009 respectively, will be looking to add another ICC honour to their ever-growing list of accolades.

The two gigantic cricketing nations also played out the ICC World Test Championship and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023, where the side from Down Under emerged victorious on both occasions.

The Champions Trophy 2025 will kick off on February 19 and will run until March 9.

Matches will be held across three venues in Pakistan — Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi — and in Dubai, featuring 15 thrilling encounters between the eight participating teams.