India are all set to take on Pakistan in the ultimate clash of the titans in the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on February 23 (Sunday). One of the players who India need to be wary of is Babar Azam, who is undoubtedly the biggest name in the Pakistan lineup. However, the former skipper is not in great form. He did score 64 runs but it came off 90 balls. This slow approach has been criticized by many, and now Ravichandran Ashwin has lashed out at the star Pakistani batter.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that even though he is a big fan of Babar Azam, his knock vs New Zealand was pretty difficult to watch.

“I’m a big fan of Babar Azam. Sometimes, as cricketers, when we want to safeguard our reputation, it becomes a problem. Reputation is not ahead of the team. Babar's knock was very difficult to watch," the legendary off-spinner said.

Ashwin slammed Babar for not showing any intent throughout the innings against New Zealand. He said that he did not create any shot options for himself. He even mockingly said that such an innings was not even played in the 1990's.

"Intent kahan tha. Ghar pe rakh ke aaya tha kya? (Where was the intent? Did you keep it at your home? I actually feel that, coming into the match, Babar Azam didn’t create shot options for himself. He doesn’t have any shots, and there’s no shot for square of the wicket, no sweep, no reverse sweep, bottom hand is closed. There are no shots in his armory. Such innings weren’t even played in the 1990s,” Ashwin added.

India, Pakistan Come With Contrasting Fortunes

India and Pakistan come into the match with contrasting fortunes. The Men in Blue started their campaign off on a strong note as they defeated Bangladesh by 6 wickets. Shubman Gill slammed a century, while Mohammed Shami scalped a five-wicket haul.

Pakistan, on the other hand, had a horrific start of their Champions Trophy campaign at home. They were defeated by New Zealand by 60 runs at Karachi.

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