‘Indian players keen to play CT in Pak’

Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali has weighed in on the ongoing debate about the venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy, asserting that Indian players are keen to participate in the tournament in Pakistan.

In an interview with a local sports channel, Hasan stated that Indian cricketers have expressed their desire to play in front of Pakistani crowds, and convincing them is not an issue.

“It will be a massive change in Pakistan cricket and for Pakistan as a country too if whole Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan. I don’t think so we need to convince the Indian players and you know why because Indian players said in their interviews that they want to go to Pakistan, they want to play Indian cricket in-front of Pakistan crowd,” Hasan said.

Despite these sentiments, Hasan pointed out that there may be concerns stemming from government positions which could affect the decision on hosting the event in Pakistan.

“But I think there’s something else that is coming from the government and the government don’t want to send their teams to Pakistan but I would say Champions Trophy should be in Pakistan because that would be the turning point for Pakistan cricket team,” he further added.

The Pakistani pacer also highlighted recent international tours to the country, mentioning that teams from Australia, England, and Sri Lanka have visited Pakistan and found it to be a safe environment for cricket.

“Recently Australia, England, Sri Lanka—all these teams have come to Pakistan and they have felt safe,” he concluded.

It is worth noting that the Champions Trophy is scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9, 2025.The PCB has designated three venues for the eight-match tournament: Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. According to the PCB’s proposed schedule, all of India’s matches are set to take place in Lahore.

Moreover, Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali has responded to former Pakistan team director and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez’s claims about players sleeping during the Test series against Australia in December-January.

Hafeez, who served as the team’s director and interim head coach from November 2023 to February 2024, shared his concerns about discipline within the team during an interview with cricketing greats Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist.

In the interview, Hafeez did not mince words about the issue. “You tell me, Gilly, if a player is sleeping in the dressing room while we’re playing Test cricket. 4-5 players are sleeping in the dressing room. Should I allow that as a team director?” Hafeez questioned.

Responding with a touch of humor, Vaughan quipped, “Are they tired?” to which Hafeez continued seriously, “I really don’t know. I went into the dressing room and found 4-5 players sleeping while playing Test cricket. I was like, ‘How come you guys can do that?’ If you do something like this, you cannot be a part of this team.”

In an exclusive interview at a local sports platform, Hasan Ali addressed Hafeez’s claims with a detailed response.

“I don’t know, actually, but it should be the way Hafeez said. I don’t think anyone slept in the dressing room after that. When Hafeez said that I was not part of the first game, all the players who were not part of the playing XI were sitting in the dugout watching the game. Even the management was sitting there. But I would say especially for the fast bowlers, when you bowl for one and a half days you need to recover, and you could take a 20-30 minute nap, but for those who feel like they need,” Hasan said.

“In the past, the management set the rule that if someone needed a nap for recovery, especially the fast bowlers, they could do that. But if Hafeez, as the head coach and director of Cricket, said no one was going to sleep, then fair enough. If he set the rule, we had to follow it,” he added.