Would India have won the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan? Wasim Akram makes a BOLD claim

Team India successfully ended their 12-year Champions Trophy title with a thrilling win against New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 9. This was the Men in Blue’s third Champions Trophy title after winning it in 2002 (joint-winners with Sri Lanka) and 2013 under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, respectively. 

India won their second successive title under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma following the T20 World Cup triumph last year. Amid the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, the discussion has been on Team India’s advantage of playing all their fixtures in Dubai as a part of a hybrid model after the BCCI refused to send the team to the host nation Pakistan due to political tensions and security. Many cricket experts and players India had an undue advantage over playing all their fixtures in Dubai, given their familiarity with the conditions throughout the tournament. 

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However, former Pakistan pace bowling legend Wasim Akram had a different take on India's 'venue advantage’ controversy. Speaking on Sports Central channel’s Sow ‘In The Dressing Room’, Akram stated that Team India would have won the Champions Trophy even if they had played in Pakistan. 

“This Indian team would have won it anywhere in the world.” the 58-year-old said. 

“Yes, there were a lot of talks once it was decided that India would play all of their matches in Dubai. But had they played in Pakistan, they would have won there as well." he added. 

Team India had an unbeaten run in the Champions Trophy 2025, which culminated in winning the prestigious title. They were undefeated in the group stage of the tournament, winning against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand. In the semifinal, the Men in Blue defeated Australia, avenging their ODI World Cup 2023 final and booked their spot for the title clash against New Zealand. 

Wasim Akram lauded India for recent ICC achievements

The former Pakistan pacer emphasized Team India’s recent achievements under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, especially winning two consecutive ICC titles over the past one year. He also lauded India’s resilience to bounce back from Test series defeat against New Zealand and Australia to win the Champions Trophy in dominant fashion. 

“They won the 2024 T20 World Cup without losing a game, they went on to win the Champions Trophy without losing even one game which shows the depth in their cricket, that shows the leadership." Wasim Akram added. 

“If you remember, they lost 3-0 to New Zealand in the Test series at home, lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy, and lost the series in Sri Lanka. They were under pressure to remove the captain, the coach but sanity prevailed. The BCCI backed them, said 'this is our captain, this is our coach' and now they are the champions of the champions," he concluded. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan were the first to be knocked out of the tournament despite being the hosts. The Men in Green led by Mohammad Rizwan were already staring at an early exit from the tournament following two successive defeats against New Zealand and India. New Zealand’s victory against Bangladesh sealed Pakistan’s fate in the marquee event.

Also read: Will Rohit Sharma play in 2027 World Cup? India skipper reveals future plans after Champions Trophy triumph