The legendary Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram led Team India to their victory against New Zealand by four wickets during the 2025 Champions Trophy final held at Dubai on Sunday March 9. Some fans together with analysts believed India obtained an undeserved advantage because they did not need to move from their sole matches hosting location.
According to Akram, even if India had played in Pakistan like the other teams, they would still have won the title. It is important to note that Pakistan hosted the ICC tournament, however India chose not to travel to its neighbor because of security concerns.
The former Pakistan captain stated on the program “The DP World Dressing Room” that Rohit Sharma and company have been a formidable force in white-ball cricket in recent years:
“A lot of people talked about India playing all their matches in Dubai. Even if they played in Pakistan, their team would have won there too in the same fashion. They won the 2024 T20 World Cup without losing a game and now won the Champions Trophy without losing even one game; that shows the depth of their cricket and leadership.”
Indian captain Rohit Sharma led his team to a remarkable success during the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Indian team pursued a 252-run target against New Zealand in the final match to secure victory in the prized trophy and achieve a spotless campaign throughout the tournament.
With a brilliant 76-run knock, Sharma took the lead in the pivotal match and was named Player of the Match.
India Faced Massive Pressure to Replace Captain and Coach Says Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram stated during that program how India experienced extreme pressure before the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. Team losses to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka led to criticism about the role of head coach Gautam Gambhir and ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma.
Thanking the Indian team management for supporting Gambhir and Sharma in spite of their lackluster performances, Akram said:
“If you remember, they lost 3-0 to New Zealand in India, lost in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and ODI series against Sri Lanka. There was a lot of pressure to remove the captain and the coach, but sanity prevailed. The BCCI said no, this is our coach and captain, and now see, they are the champions of the champions.”
Rohit Sharma became the second Indian skipper to win two ICC events as the Men in Blue won the 2025 Champions Trophy.
