IND vs PAK Champions Preview | India and Pakistan to take on each other in highly anticipated WCL 2025 encounter

The retired legends of India and Pakistan, who once faced each other in their prime, are set to battle once again in the ongoing World Championship of Legends 2025. Both teams will feature former cricketers who ruled the cricketing world in their active international careers.

The Indian side will have five World Cup-winning stars, including the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, and Piyush Chawla. T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder Irfan Pathan and batter Robin Uthappa are also a part of the squad. Former explosive opener Shikhar Dhawan will also be in action for India Champions.

Speaking of Pakistan, the team will be led by former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. The Men in Green will include Champions Trophy-winning skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, legendary all-rounders Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, as well as Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal.

Form Guide

India Champions will be playing their first match in the tournament’s current edition. So, they will eye to make a winning start with a success against the men in green.

Mohammad Hafeez’s Pakistan Champions took on the hosts, England Champions, in their campaign opener on Friday. The skipper himself led from the front with a half-century, scoring 54(34) and helped his side beat England Champions by a narrow five-run margin to start their campaign.

IND-C vs PAK-C Head-to-Head

India Champions and Pakistan Champions faced each other in two games last year in the WCL 2024. The Pakistan Champions won the league fixture against India Champions by a big margin of 68 runs, before the Men in Blue managed to exact revenge with a five-wicket win in the tournament’s summit clash to clinch the title.

Pitch and Weather

The surface at Edgbaston is known for favouring the batters, especially in the first half of the game. The pacers might get some help from this deck as the game progresses to the second innings. Average score here has been 171 runs.  So, the toss-winning skipper might opt to bat first to put the opponent in a pressure-filled run-chase.

The weather around the start of the game is expected to be rainy, with a minimum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius and a maximum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. The cloud cover is expected to stay throughout the game, with some rain interruptions forecast during the match. 

Team News

India Champions will be playing their first game in the tournament, so they will hope to nail the perfect playing XI in their campaign opener.

On the other hand, Pakistan Champions will look forward to continuin with their winning combination, which defeated England in the last game.

IND-C Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa (WK), Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh (C), Ambati Rayudu, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, R Vinay Kumar.

PAK-C Probable XI: Kamran Akmal (WK), Sharjeel Khan, Umar Amin, Mohammad Hafeez (C), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan.

Broadcasting Platforms

WCL 2025’s fourth game between India Champions and Pakistan Champions will be streamed live on the FanCode app and website.