Lahore, Feb. 2 -- Former cricketer Basit Ali doesn't think that defending champions Pakistan will be able to defend its title in the forthcoming Champions Trophy.

For the first time since 2017, the Champions Trophy has returned to the cricketing calendar year. Pakistan will host the marquee event with the UAE, aiming to defend the crown.

On Friday, Pakistan finally unveiled their 15-player squad, but it came at the cost of criticism. Former cricketers openly pilloried the selection of some players in the team.

While assessing the squad, Basit made a striking remark about Pakistan's chances of reaching the final for the second successive time and said on his YouTube channel, "I don't think Pakistan will reach the final, but if they do a...