'India Was Nothing...': Sarfaraz Ahmed's Advice To Pakistan Ahead Of Blockbuster Clash Against Arch-Rivals

Sarfaraz Ahmed has advised the Pakistan cricket team to remain calm and block out the outside noise as they gear up for a high-voltage clash with India at the 2025 Champions Trophy later this month. India and Pakistan have been drawn in the same group of the competition which is making its return for the first time after 2017.

Pakistan, led by Sarfaraz, had then beaten India in the final in London to lift their maiden Champions Trophy. However, before their triumph, Pakistan began their campaign with a heavy defeat to India in a group match.

So how did they pick themselves up?

“Afterwards (the India defeat), we had a great team meeting, and some of our senior guys – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez – all said their piece. You need those types of characters around you. We changed our mindset from that day. The acrimony was very good for us, we made a couple of changes to the team and it helped our confidence,” Sarfaraz wrote in a column for ICC.

The defeat spurred Pakistan to a 19-run win over South Africa and a three-wicket win against Sri Lanka as they qualified for the semifinals.

“We played England in the semifinals and our bowlers were just superb,” Sarfaraz wrote. “Then, it was India in the final. I was just confident our level was very high and my message to the players ahead of the final was to relax.”

Sarfaraz says he advised his teammates to not focus on the result and just give their full commitment to the game.

In the final, Pakistan posted 338/4 with opener Fakhar Zaman hitting a century. Left-arm pacer then bowled a decisive spell with the new ball to get rid of India’s top-three and they eventually went on to win by 180 runs.

“We knew we had beaten some of the best teams, so India was nothing we had not seen,” Sarfaraz discussed the team’s mindset ahead of the contest. I told the guys to relax, forget the result and just give 100%,” he wrote.

“The rest is history. When the last wicket went down and we won, it is impossible to describe that feeling in words. When I took the last catch, I was at gully. And I just ran. I saw Shoaib Malik and ran into his arms, I jumped into him and hugged him. The whole team then joined in. It was indescribable,” he added.