They play on emotion

Pakistan have not won the Champions Trophy so far. Their best result is semi-final appearances in 2000, 2004 and 2009. Though they have not been playing cricket at home, they have done well in recent times and are at the peak of their form in Test cricket. The Champions Trophy will prove whether their success is limited to Tests only but they have a competitive side. “They’re always a handful, no matter what. They’re very talented cricketers, so you can never discount them,” says Mike Hussey.

“Pakistan play on emotion and they play on momentum. Once they get their momentum going they’re extremely hard to stop. You’ve just got to be really wary of Pakistan because they’re so talented and really hard to beat.” 

One of the talented cricketers in the side is Mohammad Amir who returns to England where he was exposed as a spot-fixer in 2010. There will undoubtedly be a frosty reception for the left-arm bowler during the tournament. Amir is Pakistan’s spearhead and his side will be relying on top-order wickets from the 25-year-old. In the 15 ODIs since his return, Amir has captured 20 wickets at 34.50 and that strike rate and average need to improve, and should, in helpful conditions. 

If Amir is the bowling spearhead, Babar Azam seems to be the next batting giant for Pakistan. The 22-year-old has an average of 55.08 and no Pakistan batsman has scored as many centuries as Azam’s five after their first 26 ODIs. 

He’s in good nick, too, having scored an unbeaten 125 against the West Indies last month. There’s a few thrilling young batsmen in the Champions Trophy and Azam is right at the top of the list.

While they haven’t played ODI cricket for some time, the international retirements of veterans Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan officially end one era of Pakistan cricket and signal the start of another. Azhar Ali had been the ODI skipper but now the reins belong to enterprising wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed. 

If Pakistan play with the same aggression, flare and occasional brilliance as their skipper then exciting times are afoot.

SQUAD: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Fahim Ashraf, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Shadab Khan

June 4 v India, Edgbaston 

June 7 v South Africa, Edgbaston 

June 12 v Sri Lanka, Cardiff 

BEST RESULT: Semi-final: 2000, 2004, 2009