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The D-Day is here as India and Pakistan set to collide in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match-up today i.e. on 23rd February at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai from 2:30 P.M Indian Standard Time (IST). However, before the match, there is big concern about the availability of Babar Azam for this match.

The Pakistan cricket team completed their matchday minus one practice session on Saturday ahead of the do-or-die match against India on Sunday in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Pakistan lost their opening match of the tournament against the New Zealand cricket team in Karachi, which has made this match-up vs India a do-or-die situation. Pakistan need a win to stay in the race for the semi-finals.

However, there were massive concerns pre-match as star Pakistani batter Babar Azam was absent from the last training session, leading to many doubt about his availability for the match.

Babar Azam missed Pakistan training before India match

According to reports, Babar Azam was missing from training and there were no clarity about whether he will be available for the India match. Head Coach Aqib Javed didn’t give any clear indication as to why he was missing and just stated that the former captain opted to rest.

Babar Azam faced a lot of criticism from Pakistani fans, media and global media after he played inning of 64 runs off 90 balls despite the hosts chasing a significant target of 321 runs. Eventually Pakistan lost the match by 60 runs and a lot of blame was on Babar Azam for his slow inning.

Pakistan in do-or-die situation

Meanwhile, after their loss in the first match of the tournament vs New Zealand, Pakistan now finds themselves in a do-or-die situation. Pakistan is in Group A alongside with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh. India on the other hand beat Bangladesh in their respective opening match to put the pressure on Pakistan.

New Zealand is very likely to get the better of a struggling Bangladesh which would ensure their qualification into the semi-finals, leaving this match as a crucial one for the hosts. Pakistan need a win here or else they would find themselves with just 0 points from the first 2 matches meaning they would be out of the semi-final race.

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