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ICC Champions Trophy: Pakistan's interim head coach, Aqib Javed, voiced his support for Babar Azam to continue opening the batting for the team ahead of the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled from February 19 to March 9.

Following Pakistan's five-wicket loss to New Zealand in the tri-nation ODI series final, Javed addressed concerns about Babar's promotion to the opening position. He endorsed the management's decision to move the star batter up the order and expressed optimism that former captain would thrive in this role during crucial upcoming matches.

“Our rationale behind the change was that if you look at the away series against South Africa, Babar Azam had to bat in the first over in all games. Then Saim got injured, and he had to open in Tests too. These pitches are not troubling the batters at the start, we wanted our best batter to make good use of the powerplay, that suits us more,” Aqib said at post-match press conference.